Living with Myself
by writerchic16
Summary: Reba is at a busy point in her life and feels overwhelmed – though she doesn’t want to admit it. A wish for reduced stress proves that help can come from the strangest of places.
1. Prologue

**Living with Myself**

Summary: Reba is at a busy point in her life and feels overwhelmed – though she doesn't want to admit it. A wish for reduced stress proves that help can come from the strangest of places.

A/N: I know, I know. You're all probably looking at this like "Wait, it's only been four days since the last story ended...right?" Well, this is what happens when an unemployed college student is on winter break. Boredom consumes you.

So, to those tuning in for the plot summary, I just want to make it clear that you do not have to have read the other stories in order to understand this one. Yes, there are developments in Reba's life you might not understand, but all are explained and none too confusing.

Anyway, to those who read this series, you know the drill. This is the fourth, and probably last, story in my somewhat twisted Reba series. The other three are _Living a Dream_, _Living a Nightmare_, and _Living a Life Not Mine_, all located on my profile page. In the tradition of using cliche movie and sitcom plots, I got this one from a _Lifetime_ movie first, then got further inspiration from a _Charmed_ episode. This one should go pretty quickly, since I have the whole thing planned out down to the last scene.

Thanks to all those who reviewed my other stories! As it's now 1:19 in the morning and my eyes are barely open, I'll shut up now - enjoy the prologue!

* * *

**Prologue**

**January 2009**

"So it's all settled for January twenty-second then?" Reba asked into the cordless phone. It was balanced on her right shoulder, while her hands held a large day planner. "Okay, thank you."

With that, she hung up the phone, tossed it to the side…and fell back on her bed from pure exhaustion. "Lord help me."

"You need a vacation," Lori Ann declared. The blonde stood facing Reba's closet, sorting through outfits as if they were her own. Every outfit she chose was either a "no" or a "maybe." The "no's" went back with the rest, and the "maybes" were hung on the closet door knob.

"Yeah, right. Like that'll happen within the next fifty years," Reba retorted, sitting up on the bed and sighing at what her best friend was doing. "Don't I get a say on what _I'm_ wearing on _my_ date?"

"No."

"Lori _Ann_!"

"I'm sorry Reba, but Adam's taking you to one of the fanciest restaurants in Houston. Given your fashion sense, I'm not prepared to let you take that risk," Lori Ann replied. She paused when she took out a dress and held it against herself in front of the full length mirror next to the closet. "Though this _is_ nice. Can I –"

"No. I'm still waiting for that sweater you borrowed from me…in high school," Reba interrupted, her arms crossed.

Shrugging, Lori Ann put it back in the closet. "Fine. You're a size bigger than me anyway."

"Oh, that was a petty blow," Reba laughed, grateful for the momentary relief. While she chatted with Lori Ann, her mind was an automated to-do list, reminding her of all the calls she had to make and errands to get done. But that's how it was when you had a wedding to plan and two careers to keep in line.

Looking into a mirror as she considered another blouse, Lori Ann asked, "So who was that on the phone?"

"The rectory at my Church to confirm the wedding date," Reba answered with a long sigh. "I wish all my other calls were as smooth as that one. When I called the caterer to change something, that chef nearly chopped my head off." She hesitated, then added, "Excuse the pun."

Lori Ann shook her head. "Have you ever heard of a wedding planner?"

"It's my wedding – I can plan it," Reba snapped, starting to clean up some of the clothes that managed to find their way on the bed.

"Not from what I'm hearing. Reba, honey, look at yourself…" Lori Ann demanded, pulling Reba in front of the mirror. "You're stressed _out_."

Reba would've argued, but after a second of staring at her tired eyes she found that she couldn't. Her hair was a mess, thrown up in a sloppy bun that tilted to the side. The jeans she wore were dirty from multiple days of wearing, her button-up shirt was rumpled, and everything about her screamed fatigue. Finally she put a hand on her hip. "And just what do you expect me to do about that? It's _my_ real estate business, _my_ singing career, _my_ family…and it all needs _my_ attention."

"But can't Adam help you with the wedding? I've been doing as much as I can, but you still have to do a lot," Lori Ann suggested, trying to fix Reba's hair as she spoke.

"No. He's been busy with a case," Reba muttered. Her social worker fiancé had been occupied with a case for a week now, and the anxiety of missing him so much was beginning to take its toll as well. She was grateful that she'd decided to let him move in from his apartment a few months ago, otherwise she feared she wouldn't see him until they both said "I do."

Not knowing what else to do, Lori Ann finally took down Reba's bun and started putting it in a manageable ponytail. "What about your careers, Ms. Businesswoman? Can't you hire anyone to make your life easier?"

"My real estate business is in a slump right now – hiring someone would cost me more money than I'm willing to part with. As for my singing career, _that's_ just starting to pick up after more than a year of work. I even got a call from _Good Morning,, Houston_ asking me for an interview. But I don't have an agent yet, so it's all on me to arrange it," Reba explained. Once Lori Ann was done with her hair, she tightened the ponytail and nodded. "Thanks."

"My pleasure. That hair was driving me nuts," Lori Ann replied, going back to sorting through Reba's closet.

Still looking at her reflection, Reba argued, "Okay, I know it seems like I'm stressed, but trust me – I'm _fine_. Really I am. Once this wedding is over my life will be back to normal, with the exception of being married."

"Define normal," Lori Ann retorted. It was clear by the way her eyes were narrowed at Reba that she didn't believe her friend for a second.

Reba chuckled, glancing at the mirror one last time before returning to her cleaning. "I'm serious. You are looking at the queen of stress management."

They both looked up as Adam poked his head in the door. "Hey, Reba? Cheyenne's downstairs."

"Oh, _now_?" Reba moaned. While she loved her daughter's company, she was already burnt out from making calls all day.

Giving her a sympathetic smile, Adam explained, "She claims that you agreed to baby-sit Elizabeth while she goes to her class…is this ringing any bells?"

Reba's eyes widened as she remembered and she groaned again. After all she'd been through that day, she forgot about her usual task of watching her granddaughter while her daughter went to class for grad school. "Now it is. Lori Ann, I'll be right back."

"Okay, I'll be here…" Lori Ann trailed off, taking yet another item of clothing from the closet. "Hey, would the queen mind if I borrowed…"

Not even bothering to look to see what it was, Reba said, "Put it back, Lori Ann!" as she followed Adam out the bedroom door.

* * *

Disappointed, Lori Ann continued to stare at the top with longing after her friend went out the door. She and Reba didn't agree on fashion for the most part, but once in a while Lori Ann found something that wasn't completely repulsive. Going back to the closet to hang it up, she continued her self-assigned chore of choosing Reba's outfit.

She did usually have other things to do, of course. After almost a year and a half of being back in Houston, she managed to find a full time receptionist's job. But her romantic life was in a little bit of a slump, which left her with considerable free time. And Reba _was_ her best friend – who needed help, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

"I wish there was something I could do," Lori Ann muttered, rummaging through the bottom of the closet for shoe options. Seeing her friend in so much pain was enough to bring on some serious anxiety.

Digging out some high heels, she stood up to examine them in the light, banging into the side of the closet at she did so. That didn't hurt as much as the cardboard box that came crashing down on her head. "Ouch! You son of a…"

She trailed off in a string of curses while she took the box over to the bed. "What is in here…" she said to herself, seeing that it was a box of personal mementoes and important papers. There were Reba's divorce papers, bank statements, pictures, Jake's birth certificate…"Hello, what is this doing here?"

It was the Christmas star. _The_ Christmas star. The one that caused Reba's life to take decidedly unusual supernatural twists. By Lori Ann's count, there were three experiences so far. All caused by the star she was now holding in her hand, and Reba's guardian angel Terry, who happened to be her deceased ex-boyfriend.

_Define normal, indeed,_ Lori Ann thought with a smirk. The body switching incident was already a year ago, and nothing, as far as she knew, happened since then, aside from a visit from Terry every once in a while.

Her eyes widened as she realized just how much power she held in her hands. She knew that anyone could make a wish on the star – Reba had made the first two, but Barbara Jean made the last one.

A wish to help Reba reduce the stress in her life already forming her mind, Lori Ann held the star at eye level and smiled. Reba would kill her for it, but with the state she was in now, she would thank her for it in time.

"This is going to be fun."


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Yes, another chapter! I'm _that_ bored! But I'll be busy over the weekend, thank God, so you might actually have to wait two days for an update! _gasp_ But seriously, I'm really into this story, and this chapter was so much fun to write - especially the last section.

Thank you all for the reviews for the prologue! They were awesome! It's so great knowing that people are following the series - and welcome to all new readers!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Adam held Brock Jr. at arms length, staring at the baby with a mixture of amusement and mild frustration. "Okay, peeing on someone when they're still in their work clothes is _not_ cool."

'Gross," Jake laughed, pointing at the noticeable stain on Adam's jeans. "Just so you know, it looks like you peed _yourself_."

Glaring at the fourteen-year-old, Adam retorted, "Thanks."

"No problem," Jake replied, taking the baby from Adam's arms and handing him out to Reba. "Here, Mom."

Reba glanced up from the living room table, where she was helping Elizabeth with homework. "Jake, can't you see I'm busy? You know how to change a diaper."

"I also know how to eat green beans, but you don't see me doing that any time soon," Jake said, staring at the baby's bulging diaper with disgust.

"Jake! Change your nephew! _Now_!"

Frowning, Jake headed upstairs. "Fine." Though there were no more babies living in the house, they were there enough to make Reba keep a changing table in the spare room.

"That was a little harsh," Adam said, regarding the tone his fiancé had used. He knew she was under a lot of stress, but usually she wasn't one to let it bother her.

Elizabeth nodded in agreement. "That was mean, Grandma."

"I know, I'm sorry," Reba sighed. "I just…you know what, I'll be fine as soon I get a few minutes to myself. Excuse me."

Both grown man and six-year-old watched while Reba got up and went into the kitchen. Looking at Adam with worry on her face, Elizabeth asked, "Is Grandma Reba going to be okay?"

Adam hesitated, not quite sure of the answer to that question himself. He felt he knew Reba well, yet he'd _never_ seen her so on the verge of burnout as she was now. "I don't know, kid. I just don't know," he finally said. "Um…do you need help with your homework?"

"Uh huh. But not now."

Raising an eyebrow, Adam asked, "Why not?"

Elizabeth glanced at the stain on his jeans. "You need to change your pants."

"Oh, right," Adam said. Blushing, he headed up the stairs to change…

And collided with a frazzled Lori Ann.

Lori Ann shrieked, jumping back and wiping her now damp shirt. "I'm sorry, Adam – ew, _please_ tell me that's water."

Noticing that she'd gotten some on her top, Adam just gave her a weak grin. "It's not water."

"Gross, gross, gross, gross…" Lori Ann wailed, her arms moving about in a helpless motion. It was clear that she wanted to wipe the liquid off, but didn't want to touch it.

Adam laughed, unable to hold back his amusement – despite the death glare she was giving him. "Yeah, Brock Jr. had a little accident. So, what were you running downstairs for?"

Glancing around with a nervous energy, Lori Ann pulled Adam into the nearest bedroom, which happened to be Reba's. "Okay, I think I did something I'm starting to regret."

"Lori Ann, take a page from Barbara Jean's book. Having an affair with a married man is never a good idea," Adam teased. He was rewarded with a swift punch in the arm.

"No, you idiot!" Lori Ann exclaimed. She grabbed the star off the bed and held it up to his face.

He stared at it, with not a clue why it should hold any importance. "Lori Ann? Not computing the meaning of the star."

"Didn't Reba tell you?" Lori Ann asked. When he shook his head, she tossed the star back on the bed and sighed. "Okay, you know the whole Terry story, right?"

"Yeah…still not quite believing it, but yeah…"

"Well, _that's_ the star," Lori Ann said in a quiet voice.

_Uh oh,_ Adam thought, now understanding what she was getting at. And if he was right, he was looking at a dead woman walking. From the stories he was told, he knew how furious his fiancé got every time a wish was fulfilled in an unexpected way. His hands folded across his stomach, he felt stating the obvious was necessary. "Reba is going to kill you."

"Maybe she won't," Lori Ann reasoned. But her own downcast eyes betrayed her lack of confidence in the argument. "I mean, the wish was to get her to slow down and enjoy life…"

"She's still going to kill you."

"But I…"

"Kill you _dead_."

"Maybe if we tell her the right way…"

"If you want, I'll distract her while you climb out a window…"

"Will you stop that?" Lori Ann yelled, smacking his arm again. "It's not helping!"

Rubbing his sore arm, Adam paused to think about the situation they now found themselves in. From what he knew, every wish was fulfilled in crazy, roundabout ways that defied reality. He felt dread rise within him as he began to realize the repercussions this wish would have other than the invoking of Reba's wrath. Although that on its own was enough to justify the panic he felt at the moment. "So…what's going to happen to Reba?"

"I don't know. That's the scary part. It could be anything," Lori Ann explained.

Adam contemplated staying there longer and reassuring her, but in truth there was nothing they could do…except wait. Remembering that he still needed to change his pants, he went over to the closet. "Well, it was nice knowing you. Do you mind?"

"Nope, I'm going to look for a place to hide from Reba. See you."

"Might I suggest Brock and Barbara Jean's house? She never goes there," Adam replied, taking out another pair of pants from the closet.

Lori Ann glared at him for the obvious teasing, but stopped when she began to consider it. "That's actually not a bad idea. Thanks, Adam."

"No problem," Adam chuckled, getting changed after she left and closed the door behind her.

* * *

"Now, Henry, you be good," Barbara Jean told her son. She, Brock, and Henry were walking down the street toward Reba's house to visit. As she walked, Barbara Jean pushed a stroller that carried her five-month-old daughter, Savannah. This was one of the adorable blonde baby's first outings. 

Her attention on her son, Barbara Jean added, "Reba has been very tired lately and doesn't need you bothering her. You go upstairs and play with Elizabeth as soon as we get there, got it?"

"Yeah, Mom," Henry replied.

Brock glanced at his wife with a raised eyebrow. "Cheyenne's already there? Honey, I don't know about this. If Reba's tired, there's a _very_ good chance that she just wants to be alone."

"That may be, but with the state she's in, she needs her family around her to help her through this time of stress," Barbara Jean replied with conviction. In her mind, it wouldn't do Reba any good to be by herself while she was under so much pressure. "The least we can do is help her with whatever she needs done."

"Wait, I'm going over my ex-wife's house to do her _chores_? Come on, Barbara Jean, I've been working all day," Brock whined, glancing over his shoulder back at his house, longing in his eyes.

As they walked up the front path, Barbara Jean stopped and glared at him. "You'll have to just grin and bear this, okay? I'm really worried about Reba, and you should be too."

"What? It's that bad?" Brock asked.

Barbara Jean nodded. "Yeah! I called her today, and she seemed like she was about to have a nervous breakdown. None of us have ever seen her like this and…we're scared. Her high blood pressure vanished so suddenly – we're worried that this might bring it back if she keeps going like this."

"Honestly, I _was_ a little worried about her the other day. I did something stupid and she didn't insult me for it," Brock remembered, wrinkling his brow.

"See? Now look happy when we walk in," Barbara Jean sighed. The two had been through a lot over the past year as they attended more marriage counseling and attempted to fix their relationship. All their hard work paid off, since now the two got along better than they ever did. That didn't mean there wasn't the occasional argument, but at least they weren't threatening each other with divorce every week. Letting out a deep breath, Barbara Jean smiled wide as she threw open the door. "Hi, everybody!"

They went in to find Van and Cheyenne on the living room couch, looking stressed themselves. Brock Jr. slept in a carrier next to them while they sifted through mounds of paper and files. Saying quick, preoccupied hello's, they kept their eyes on the paperwork.

"What's going on?" Brock asked while he and Barbara Jean took seats around the frantic couple. Henry did as he was told and went upstairs in search of Elizabeth.

"Chaos, that's what's going on!" Cheyenne exclaimed in a rushed, panicked voice. "I come over to get my kids, and suddenly I'm swamped in real estate papers! All I did was ask Mom if she needed any help, and before I know it, I'm sorting papers into zillions of piles, and I don't even know what any of them _mean_!"

Van gave them a weak smile. "Cheyenne's had a rough day."

Looking at Van, Brock asked, "So you got sucked into this too?"

"Hey, I did not get 'sucked in.' Mrs. H helped us out a lot over the years, you know? We should return the favor," Van answered, as if insulted. Then he lowered his eyes. "And you know how Mrs. H does that scary death glare thing?"

"Right, gotcha," Barbara Jean replied. She felt bad for the two, but at the same time, Reba had it ten times worse. From what she'd seen over the past few weeks, Cheyenne and Van's task was only one line to cross off on Reba's enormous to-do list.

"So where is Reba?" Brock asked.

Van indicated the stairs with his elbow, since his hands were full of papers. "In her room making phone calls. Last I checked, there was something wrong with the reception hall. She nearly exploded – Adam's up there trying to calm her down."

Flinging her hands out in an angry motion, Cheyenne hissed, "I bet he is, while _we're_ stuck down here going through this –"

"Cheyenne! Babies in the room!" Van interrupted, his patience wearing thin.

Looking through the papers on the table, Barbara Jean asked, "Is there anything we can help with?"

"Yeah. Here," Van said. He split up the papers he'd been holding into two stacks, handing one to Barbara Jean and one to Brock. Then he handed them each a spare accordion folder. "Okay, each folder stands for a current client. All the general papers for the client go in the first section of the folder, while the house flyers labeled with the client's name go in the second."

Barbara Jean and Brock exchanged bewildered glances, then stared at Van. "Huh?"

"That's what I said! Then Mrs. H smacked me upside the head and told me to pay attention," Van muttered.

Further explanation of the task was cut short when Adam came down the stairs, his arms limp at his side and his head down. When he got to the group, he put his head in his hands and rubbed his forehead.

"So is Mrs. H feeling better?" Van asked.

Adam picked up his head just enough so that Van could see his glare. "Not really. She just got a call from the bar she's supposed to perform at this weekend. They moved the sound check on her, so now she has to reschedule an open house. As if she didn't have enough to do."

"I'm so worried about her," Barbara Jean said, trying to organize the papers while she spoke. She kept getting confused, though. Between the real estate terms and the sheer amount of papers, it was enough to make her head spin. "Reba needs to slow down somehow."

"I think she will, soon. Whether she wants to or not," Adam replied in a nonchalant manner. Then he straightened up, like he said something he shouldn't have.

The other four stared at him, confused. "What's that supposed to mean?" Cheyenne asked.

"Well…" Adam trailed off, then went into an explanation of Lori Ann's wish and their conversation earlier in the day.

"Reba's gonna be _mad_…"Barbara Jean said, as she and the others sat there in silence for a moment, realizing what was about to happen to their lives once again. But the more Barbara Jean thought about it, she felt some sense of relief for Reba. While these experiences maybe weren't the most convenient, they _always_ helped in the end.

* * *

_Beep…Beep…Beep._

"Shut up…shut up…shut up…" Reba muttered into her pillow, feeling around on her nightstand for the offending object. "Stupid dang alarm clock…come on, come out with your hands up…"

_Beep…Beep…Beep…_

Wiping her eyes, Reba forced herself to sit up in bed, which was empty since she vaguely remembered that Adam had gotten up a half-hour ago.. Then she stared in confusion at the empty nightstand. Where did her alarm clock go?

"Oh, right," she said to herself. Last night, she knew there was no way she was going to be able to get up the next morning after the day she had. So she'd thrown her alarm clock under her bed and set it on extra loud. Well, the plan worked…unfortunately. As she was, she wasn't quite sure if she was awake, or having a nightmare that she had to get up.

Then she got out of bed and hit her toe on one of the nightstand's legs.

_Beep…Beep…Beep…_

"Okay, I think I'm awake now!" Reba said to the alarm clock, hopping on one foot while she tried to reach under the bed. Somehow she managed to whip it out, turn off the alarm for good, and slam it back down on the nightstand. "There, you happy?"

_Beep._

"Very funny," Reba snapped. Giving her alarm clock one last wary look, she dragged herself to her closet and took out an outfit for work. She threw the outfit on her bed, still wiping her eyes in a determined attempt to wake herself up. Realizing she was in front of her full length mirror, she stood and faced her reflection while she tried to clear her head.. She sighed as she said to herself in a pitiful whine, "I want to _sleep_."

"Then sleep. I'll go to work for you."

"Ah!" Wide awake, Reba nearly jumped into the ceiling when her reflection talked back to her. "What the…how the…" Then her eyes widened in understanding as she called upwards, "_Terry_! You get your butt down here! I don't need this right now!"

"He knows. That's why I'm here. That and Lori Ann's wish for you to relax," the reflection explained, her hand on her hip.

"_Lori Ann_? B-But how…"

The reflection sighed, as if Reba's incredulous questions bothered her. "The Christmas star, obviously You know, the one you shoved in your closet when you took it down a few days ago. She found it yesterday and wished for you to have more time for yourself."

"Oh my Lord, I'm gonna kill her," Reba seethed, pacing the area in front of the mirror while her reflection remained in her stationary pose. "She knows everything I have to do! Why would she do such a stupid thing? All those wishes do is cause complete and utter chaos!"

"Hey, that's not true and you know it. These wishes help. That's why she did it. Reba…she's worried about you. Your whole family is. You're just too busy to see it."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Reba explained, "But now I have to deal with _you_, and I just don't have time!"

"Well, that's why I'm here. Terry created me to take over all professional areas of your life – meaning both your real estate and singing career. So that you can focus on your relationship with Adam like you know you want to."

Hesitating, Reba took in all the information. True, it did sound tempting…Shaking her head, she argued, "But I love my jobs! I wouldn't have them if I didn't! And there's also my family too…and what am I saying? You can't do anything! You're one-dimensional!"

"Well she wouldn't be if she just moved like she's supposed to!"

Reba froze. Neither she, nor her reflection had said that. Which meant…"Oh Lord. Not another one!"

"That's right!" The unknown voice exclaimed. Then, her reflection was shoved out of the mirror and into the room, becoming a full bodied Reba clone. While the clone regained her balance, another reflection took her place and said, "That one, always the boss, you know? Anyway, I'm your maternal side. I'm here to do all your baby-sitting for you. And all your housework."

"Wait a second, I love baby-sitting the kids too! Although having someone do the housework might not be so bad…." Reba trailed off.

"See?" the reflection said with a reassuring smile. "I'll do all that for you. Whatever you need, I'm here."

The clone next to her half-raised her hand. "Hey, don't forget about me! You need a day off, you got it. I'll gladly go into the office for you or give any open house. And don't worry – since I'm you, I'll make all the decisions you would make."

Reba glanced between her clone and her reflection, the strangeness of the situation registering in her brain. Putting her head in her hands, she said, "This isn't real. This is a beautiful dream that's going to disappear when my alarm clock goes off."

Her eyes widened when the reflection reached through the mirror and pinched her upper arm. Reba pulled her arm back, rubbing the spot. "Hey! What'd you do that for?"

"To show you that you're not dreaming," the reflection said, as if it should've been obvious. Then she too stepped through the mirror and stood by the other clone. "Now you go back to sleep, Reba. You deserve it."

"Yeah. We'll take care of everything," the first clone assured her.

Reba stared at the two of them, her thoughts tumbling around while she tried to figure out her feelings on the situation. True, it was weird, but…she now had two of her, willing to do whatever she asked of them. _This time, I think Terry had the right idea,_ Reba finally thought with a smile. _This could work. And I'm so exhausted…I really don't care if there are any downsides to this._ "So…you're going to go to work…and you're going to stay here and take care of my family?"

"Yup," they both replied. In a flash, the first clone was wearing one of Reba's typical work suits, while the second wore jeans and a cotton long-sleeved top.

As they went out the door, Reba shrugged and waved. "Okay then. Have a good day!"

Then, closing the door behind her, she dove into her bed and fell asleep in an instant.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay, so since you all know the premise of the story now, I'll elaborate on inspiration for it. As a few reviewers guessed, this _is_ a take on the Lifetime movie _More of Me_. However, I never actually saw the movie, just got inspiration from the commercials and the last five minutes of the movie I managed to catch. Like with any plot I use, there will, of course, be my original twists on it. Also, the _Charmed_ episode I mentioned was one of the early ones, called "Which Prue Is It Anyway?"

Disclaimer: No, this isn't one of those "I don't own the show" things. I just wanted to make clear that I wrote most of this chapter while fighting an 102 fever and a somewhat annoying cough/cold. That in mind, I apologize for any sub-par writing or inappropriate weirdness I may have missed. Yes, I suppose that I could've waited until I got better…but what else is there to do when you're stuck in bed all day?

Anyway, thanks for all the reviews – glad you're liking this. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

As a typical teenager, Jake despised getting up in the morning for school. The idea of dragging himself out of bed for a long day of doing work was not an appetizing prospect. Which was why, come a half hour past seven Tuesday morning, Jake found himself falling asleep over his glass of orange juice while his mother's boyfriend tried to pump some energy into him. "Adam, we've been through this," Jake said slowly – in part to elaborate his point, but also because he couldn't speak any other way. "This is morning time. I do not like being awake in the morning time."

"Aw, come on, kid. Have some energy, for once," Adam encouraged, taking a sip of his coffee.

Jake glared at Adam before laying his head down on the freestanding kitchen island. "I hate morning people."

They both looked up as Reba came in the room, appearing more refreshed and perky than she'd been in days. There was a definite spring in her step, and the circles that had begun to form around her eyes were gone. And her business suit was wrinkle-free. "Good morning, you two."

"'Morning, honey," Adam said while he kissed her in greeting. "Want some coffee?"

Reba shook her head. "Nope, don't need it. I'm overflowing with energy today."

_That_ had Jake staring at her with his full attention; Adam too. As long as Jake knew his mother, she _never_ went to work without her caffeine fix. And after how worn out she'd been for the past few weeks…_This is creepy,_ Jake thought. "Mom…are you okay?"

"Yup, better than ever," Reba answered. "You got the real estate section?"

Giving Jake a sidelong glance, Adam handed his fiancé the newspaper section. "Yeah, here."

"Good. I want to go over it before I leave. Can't be too prepared, you know," Reba replied, opening the section and beginning to read.

Jake raised an eyebrow at his mother's behavior, but didn't say anything. Instead, he grabbed Adam's arm, got off his stool, and pulled his future stepfather over to the side. In a whisper, he asked, "Did you and Mom…you _know_…last night?"

"No!" Adam exclaimed, shocked. When Reba glanced at them with suspicion, he lowered his voice to a whisper. "I mean, _no_! Why would you ask that? And besides…can't you hear us through the walls?"

Shivering with disgust, Jake cleared his throat and explained, "I'm only asking so that I can figure out what's up with Mom. This is just…_creepy_."

"I know, I'm a little worried myself," Adam confessed.

Then…another Reba walked in the kitchen. This one wearing jeans and a plain top.

"Ah-_h_!" Adam screamed, jumping up and hitting the counter. "What the heck?"

Jake rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "Since when does Mom have a twin?"

"She doesn't…at least, as far as I know. Then again, there are a lot of things about your mother that I don't know nor understand," Adam reasoned.

The second Reba approached them so that she stood next to the first, her arms folded on the counter. "Morning, boys. Would you like me to make you some breakfast?"

"Uh…sure…" Jake trailed off, then pulled Adam down again. "Let's get out of here!"

"Right behind you, kid," Adam said, panic in his voice. He followed Jake as the two escaped into the living room. Once there, they broke down in confusion, trying to figure out what was going on. "Okay, Jake, no offense…but your mother is scary enough. Pulling some weird _Parent Trap_/_Stepford Wives_ freak out stunt is entirely unnecessary!"

"You think you need to tell me twice? I'm just as freaked out as you are!" Jake exclaimed, his heart beating fast in his chest.

They both froze when footsteps were heard. Someone was coming down the stairs. "Get behind me," Adam warned, facing the stairs and bracing himself. If there were already two Reba's in the kitchen, then whoever was coming down the stairs had to be a burglar or a murderer or…

Another Reba. Which was just as frightening.

"Ah!" Both Jake and Adam screamed in terror, running to the other end of the living room. They were surrounded by an army of Reba clones, and they were trapped. At least, that's the only reasoning Jake could come up with.

This Reba, still dressed in her pajama's, put a hand on her hip. "Ha ha, very funny. I get it – I'll go put make-up on."

"W-wait," Adam said, swallowing the lump in his throat while both he and Jake tried to catch their breaths. "A-are you…the real Reba?"

Amused, Reba answered, "The one and only. What's –"

"Are you sure about that?" Jake interrupted. He was starting to realize that this definitely was his real mother. The circles were back under her eyes, and her hair was a mess. But that still didn't explain the clones in the kitchen.

Reba gave them a confused look, folding her arms across her chest. "What are ya'll talking about? What's going on?"

"You don't know?" Adam asked. When she shook her head, he guided her to the kitchen door. "I think you better take a look at this."

After she was pushed to the door, Reba peeked in. When she turned back to face them, her face was pale. "Oh Lord. They're actually _here_."

"They? Who's they?" Jake asked.

Reba walked further away from the door, pacing as she told them what happened that morning. "…even though that one clone pinched me, I still went to sleep thinking it was a dream…even _with_ everything that I've been through. I was just so tired that I thought it would be better to just sleep it off and pretend it never happened. When I woke up a half hour later, I figured I was just late for work."

"S-so you're saying that…the one dressed in a business suit is here to go to work for you, and the one in the jeans is going to do all your housework? _Man_, that's a sweet deal," Adam sighed.

Shaking her head, Reba argued, "No it's not! Now what am I going to do?"

As if on cue, housework Reba poked her head in the living room. "Oh, hey Reba, did you sleep well?"

"Uh…yeah…" Reba answered, clearly a little unnerved to be talking to herself.

Smiling, housework Reba added, "Just wanted to let you know that breakfast should be ready in five minutes."

Once she was gone, the three stood there with their jaws hanging open. The first to recover, Jake headed into the kitchen. "I don't know about you two, but I'm getting me some breakfast. Maybe this Mom can cook."

* * *

Reba, the real one, drove home from work that day with a mix of emotions coursing through her. A prominent one was exhaustion. After being on feet all day, whether it was because of showing houses or running around the office, she was ready to collapse. And the stress didn't help. She was beginning to wonder if her blood pressure would spike up again.

Then there was the situation waiting to be addressed once she got home. Talk about stress.

Throughout the day, she would wonder for a brief moment if she should've just let her clone go to work for her. But then she talked herself out of it and stood by her decision that morning. She was not about to let some clone make her look like an idiot in front of her entire office. There was just no way this was a good idea.

But then she got that call from Adam later in the day. He'd offered to stay home from work and make sure the clones didn't cause chaos. Reba would've done it herself, if she didn't have work piled on her desk and several important appointments to keep. From what Adam told her, it seemed like these "clones" didn't act like separate, no-brain dummies in the least. Apparently, the Reba copies were just that – exact duplicates of the real thing, memories, personality and all. They acted and spoke just like her, to the point where Barbara Jean stopped by earlier that day and didn't notice any difference (of course, the other clone hadn't been in the room).

At the time Reba had retorted that it didn't take much to fool Barbara Jean. But she thought about it…and thought about it…and thought about it. What if she could actually pull it off? What if she could get the help she needed?

What if…what if she could actually get a break?

Just the mere idea of reduced stress in her life sent a shiver of happiness down her spine. _No,_ she told herself, shaking her head. _Resist the temptation. When have these situations _ever_ made your life easier?_

She pulled up to her house, still uncertain. Then there was another aspect she had to think about. If she didn't send off her copies to their assigned tasks…what would she do with them?

Walking up to her front door, she paused when she heard voices coming from inside. One of them was definitely hers. Then there were three others…all female. Looking in the window, she confirmed what she already guessed. Cheyenne, Barbara Jean, and Lori Ann were there, with little Savannah in a carrier at her mother's side. The women sat around the living room chatting…with who they thought was Reba, but was actually the housework copy. All three blondes seemed oblivious to the switch.

_First order of business when I get inside,_ Reba thought. _Find a name for each of my copies._

Reba let out a deep breath as she stood in front of the door with her hand on the doorknob. She knew that when she went in there, she was going to give them all a considerable shock. But it had to be done. After all, why bother with the usual anxiety of keeping this a secret if they all knew?

A weak grin on her face, she opened the door and greeted, "Hi, everybody."

"Oh my God!"

"What the heck?"

"Dear Lord, there's two of them!"

Reba couldn't help it – she laughed. Cheyenne, Lori Ann, and Barbara Jean's exclamations, respectively, had been so funny to see. Barbara Jean had jumped out of her seat on the club chair near the kitchen. "I know. Pretty creepy, huh?"

Through all this, housework Reba sat there with a warm smile. "Hi, Reba. Did you have a good day?"

"Not really. But I think it's going to get better," Reba answered, walking further into the living room to lean on the couch's back. "Hey, uh, just out of curiosity…what'd you do today?"

"Well, first I did a few loads of laundry. It was really beginning to pile up – I think Jake's going through that klutzy phase where he just spills _everything_ on himself," housework Reba said, chuckling. Meanwhile, the other three stared at the exchange with their mouths hanging open and their eyes wide. "And I did the dusting and vacuuming. How long is it since you've done _that_? Good Lord – would it kill you to run a dust cloth on the side tables every once in a while?"

Despite her astonishment, Barbara Jean blurted, "I've been telling her that for _weeks_!"

"You, hush up. And you…well, I always did have a habit of criticizing myself too much," Reba said, looking around her house. She had to admit – from what she could tell, it was neater that it had been in a while.

Housework Reba sighed as she stood up and headed into the kitchen. "Now, you relax while I get dinner ready. After that I'll check on the kids upstairs."

The women stared after the copy in astonishment…even Reba. But _she_ was just shocked that chores had been done and it wasn't a complete disaster. As she looked now, there were piles of folded laundry on the dining room table, and the carpet seemed clean. That stain from where Jake spilled grape juice had vanished. _I could get used to this…_

"Reba…what the heck is going on?" Lori Ann sputtered.

But she wasn't about to let her friend off the hook. "You should know, Lori Ann. You caused it."

Lori Ann didn't respond to that for a second, confused. "_How_?"

"Oh my God…the wish!" Barbara Jean realized, while Reba nodded her confirmation. Turning to Lori Ann, she explained, "You wished for Reba to basically stop doing too much work for any one person to handle. So now she has more of her to go around. Which is _great_! Two Reba's? How awesome is that?"

"I have to admit I'm beginning to warm up to the idea," Reba said.

At that, Lori Ann looked at her with hope on her face. "So…you don't want to kill me?"

"Eh…ask me that after all this is over," Reba replied. Then she realized something. So far since she got home, she'd only seen _one_ clone…so where…"Hey, uh, have any of you seen a third me walking around?"

Silence. The others stared at her, surprised. "There's…another one?" Cheyenne asked. "'Cause I think two of you is more than enough."

Glaring at her daughter, Reba cleared her throat and called up the stairs, "Uh…other me?" When there was no response, she tried to get over the awkwardness as she shouted, "Reba!"

It was an eerie sight as both of her copies walked into the room. Housework Reba emerged from the kitchen, while Career Reba came down the stairs. "Wow," Cheyenne mouthed, while the other two looked on in astonishment.

"What is it?" The two copies replied at the same time.

Now that she had them at her attention, Reba didn't know what to say. So she said the first thing that came to her mouth. "Nothing, um…I was just, uh, proving a point. We need to give you both names."

"You're _naming _us? We're not infants," Career Reba snapped.

Housework Reba nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We can name ourselves."

"Oh yeah, they're definitely you," Lori Ann whispered to the real Reba.

"Oh, I got an idea! Reba 1 and Reba 2!" Cheyenne offered, earning her several eye rolls from the others.

"Please, Cheyenne, be creative," Barbara Jean said. "How about…Rachel and Ruth? Romana and Rajata? Reyes and Rhoda?" When they all stared at her, she shrugged. "Brock and I went through some baby books when we didn't know what to name Savannah."

After a few quiet moments, Career Reba said, "You know, I'm okay with Reba 1."

"And Reba 2 is fine for me," Housework Reba added.

With that, they began to leave the room and go back to what they were doing. Reba 1 called over her shoulder, "Hey, Reba 2, could you come up here and get the kids to quiet down? I'm trying to work."

"Sure. I'll be up in a few minutes," Reba 2 replied as she went back into the kitchen.

Left alone in the living room, the four women remained quiet while they processed what they just witnessed. Then Cheyenne's eyes widened. "_Now_ I know why this seems so familiar! Wasn't this an episode of _Charmed_?"

"That's Terry for you," Reba answered. "The guy means well…but he's none too original."

* * *

Walking into her mother's house, Cheyenne let out a sigh of relief. She hated night classes. As a wife and mother, she already had a full day even without classes. But then she had a lab earlier – which was why she'd been at her mother's house – and that was enough to tire her out. And of course, there was the lab she was just returning from, where she didn't understand any of the material presented. She was suddenly wishing that she had paid attention during senior year biology, instead of skipping it to make out with Van in the janitor's closet.

The memory put a rare smile on Cheyenne's face while she went into the house and made a beeline for her son in the nearby playpen. "Hey, there, sweetie! Were you good for Grandma Reba?"

"Yes, he was from what I saw," Reba answered from her position on the couch. She was lying with her feet on the other end, a glass of wine in one hand while she held a paperback with another.

Raising an eyebrow at her mother's relaxed nature, Cheyenne asked, "What do you mean?"

"Oh, after a while I let Reba 2 take over," Reba answered in a nonchalant manner. "At first I was a little hesitant, but when I saw how great she was with the kids, I just decided to sit back and rest. Of course, I'll work on some wedding stuff later since I finally have the time, but for now I think I deserve to read a book and drink."

Cheyenne frowned, her grip on her son tightening. "So you just let a clone watch my _children_?"

"Not a clone. A fully functional copy, as I've found out. Totally capable of anything I have to do," Reba assured her.

Still a little unsure about the idea, Cheyenne asked, "So…where are they now?"

"Reba 2 is cleaning out the upstairs closet, while Reba 1 is on the phone handling a singing a gig I have in a few weeks," Reba explained.

"And you're okay with this?" Cheyenne said. "This, which involves handing over a lot of control? This isn't like you."

Reba shrugged. "I know, it's been an internal struggle for me, but…Cheyenne, I'm exhausted. If help comes out of my mirror, I'm not going to shove it back through."

"Oh." Cheyenne replied, taking in the information. "Hey, you think the second you will come over and do _my_ laundry?"

"Hands off, Cheyenne. She's _my_ copy," Reba laughed.

Feigning a pout, Cheyenne went upstairs with Brock Jr. to get Elizabeth. When she came back downstairs, Adam was in the living room. "Oh, hey, Adam. What's up?"

"Nothing…just have to tell Reba something," Adam said, not quite looking his fiancé in the eye.

Reba closed her book, put down her wine glass and narrowed her eyes. "What is it?"

"Alright now, don't get mad, but…" Adam answered, backing away from Reba towards the kitchen as he spoke. At rapid speed he blurted, "I told my mom how stressed you've been lately, and now she wants to come to Houston tomorrow to help." When Reba's jaw dropped in anger and her body tensed, Adam ran out the kitchen door. "Bye!"

"Get back here!" Reba shouted, jumping off the couch and chasing after her fiancé.

As her mother's words of _"You're a dead man, Adam Francis Jacobson!"_ pierced the air, Cheyenne shook her head. "Your grandma is crazy," Cheyenne laughed, guiding her children out the door.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: Finally, another chapter! Sorry for the wait, and thank you so much for the reviews so far!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Lori Ann leaned back on the kitchen chair while she surveyed the scene in front of her. It was the night after the "clones" arrived, and Lori Ann went over Reba's house to check on her. But as it turned out, her impromptu visit was completely unnecessary. In fact, she found herself only in the way of organized chaos.

All three Reba's were running around in front of her, busy with their assigned tasks. Reba 1 made calls to real estate clients on her cell phone, while Reba 2 made dinner. And the original Reba was on the house phone, talking to Adam's mother to finalize plans for when the Italian woman arrived in a few days.

It was enough to give Lori Ann a headache.

"This is creeping me out," Lori Ann stated, folding her arms across her stomach.

Brock was sitting next to her, since he'd come home and got ten the message that Barbara Jean and his children were at his ex-wife's house. So he had stopped by to find Barbara Jean was upstairs getting the kids ready to leave. Meanwhile, he had to deal with his possible insanity as three Reba's moved about the kitchen. Barbara Jean told him about the phenomenon the day before, but…it was different to actually see it. "It's creeping _you_ out? There are now three of my ex-wife! I wouldn't be surprised if this caused some serious emotional scarring!"

"Why? Technically you only cheated on one of them," Lori Ann retorted, smiling at his exasperated look. Pausing to think about what she just said, she reasoned, "Although, Reba 1 and Reba 2 are _parts_ of the original, so all three of them could give you hell. This could be fun!"

"I'm blaming you for this. It's your wish that did it. So, when one of them slaps _me_ upside the head, I'll just yell at _you_," Brock snapped, giving her a sardonic grin.

Shrugging, Lori Ann replied, "It's worth it if I get to see the three of them insult you in a row. And if I have any luck at all, that _will_ happen."

"You know, it's sad, but it doesn't surprise me that you're enjoying this," Brock said, looking back at the three Reba's. "But, seriously…how can you be so calm about this? When Barbara Jean and Reba switched bodies, that was one thing. This…this I can actually _see_, and it's just, well…_weird_."

Instead of snapping back with some clever retort, Lori Ann hesitated and had to acknowledge that the man had a point. Unlike her, Brock wasn't quite used to these situations yet. He hadn't seen Reba's eighteen-year-old self…or seen, and known who she was. And he'd only found out about the switch when it was over. "Yeah, I guess it can be a little overwhelming. After a while, though, it just sort of grows on you."

"Why, Lori Ann, are you being nice to me?" Brock joked, but did glance at her with some surprise.

Lori Ann rolled her eyes. "Don't get used to it.. Look, I've been there….the first few "encounters" really throw you for a loop. But the more you think about it, the more you realize how _cool_ it is."

"'Cool' isn't exactly the word I'd use," Brock said, but there was a trace of amusement as he refocused his attention on the mildly organized commotion in front of them.

Doing the same, Lori Ann stared at the three copies of her best friend while she and Brock sat in silence. She'd bumped into Cheyenne earlier, and the other blonde had mentioned in a nonchalant manner the condition her mother was in. What had surprised Lori Ann was that, by Cheyenne's report, Reba was…_relaxed_.

There was nothing wrong with that, of course. It was just that…this wasn't how it was supposed to go. From experience, Reba was supposed to find out about the wish and go crazy with rage and worry. Then, eventually, she'd calm down and try to figure out how to undo whatever the wish did.

The fact that the exact opposite was happening caused Lori Ann no small amount of anxiety. Reba seemed to actually _accept_ the insanity going on around her, enjoying her momentary vacation. While that would be fine, Lori Ann knew it shouldn't be. Reba would have to figure this wish out eventually, though Lori Ann feared her friend would have to hit some sort of rock bottom before she realized that. "Brock?"

"Yes?"

Keeping her voice low, Lori Ann confessed, "I'm worried about Reba."

"Which one?" Brock joked.

Lori Ann resisted the temptation to roll her eyes as she answered, "The original. I mean, _look_ at her."

"I don't get what you're getting at," Brock replied. "In fact, she seems happier than she has been in weeks."

"No, you don't…" Lori Ann trailed off, letting out an exasperated sigh. _It's not worth it._ "Never mind."

They both glanced up when Reba went over to them, the phone still in hand. "Hey, quick question – either of you have _any_ idea how to make lasagna?"

"_What_?" Brock asked, an eyebrow raised.

"It's Adam's mother's favorite dish. Now answer the dang question," Reba said, traces of her previous exhaustion beginning to show.

Lori Ann smiled as she replied, "I do. It's a pretty good recipe, too."

"How do _you_ know how to make lasagna?" Reba asked, incredulous.

"I bet I know," Brock said, smirking. "She probably got the recipe from the wife of one of her boyfriends."

Not ashamed in the least, Lori Ann corrected, "For your information, Brock, it was his _girlfriend_. I'm not a marriage wrecker like someone else in this room."

"Well, I don't care where you got it," Reba said, relieved. "The point is, I won't make a fool out of myself when I try to make dinner for this woman on Friday night…if I practice a few times"

Reba 2 interrupted, "You know, since I focus on housekeeping duties, I'm a much better cook than you are."

"I doubt it. There isn't any natural cooking talent for you to focus on," Reba replied.

Chuckling, Reba 2 assured her, "If you weren't so distracted, you could be great at a lot of things. You don't worry about that lasagna – I'll have it ready for dinner on Friday."

"Right…you'll have it…for…Friday…" Reba said, her voice growing faint as she stared at her two copies. Her eyes grew wide, as if realizing something. "Oh, Lord."

Catching on, Brock asked, "Reba…what are you going to do with _them_?"

"Oh, Lord, how am I gonna explain them to Elisa?" Reba asked, referring to Adam's mother by name.

"You could tell her you found your long lost identical sisters," Lori Ann suggested. When Brock and Reba just glared at her, she shrugged. "Well, I don't see you two coming up with anything."

* * *

After work, Van pulled up to his mother-in-law's house. Cheyenne had another late class, so he was there to pick up the kids. He didn't mind, since it felt like he never got to spend time with Reba anymore. Well, he did, but it was never for long. More often than not, he only got to see her for five minutes while he was getting the kids ready to go. 

Walking up the door, Van had a smile on his face, feeling good that he was going home after a long day at work. However, once he entered the house and saw the scene in the living room, his jaw dropped.

_One…two…three Mrs. H's_, Van thought, counting the two on the couch and the one standing before them. They all turned to stare at him once aware of his presence.

He rubbed his eyes. _Nope, still there._

"Okay," Van began slowly, "That must've been really strong coffee, 'cause I know I didn't have any beer today."

The Reba standing up laughed, replying, "You're not drunk, Van. Cheyenne didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what, that you invented a cloning machine?" Van retorted, then thought about it for a second. "That's _awesome_! Can I try?"

Reba shook her head. "No, there is no cloning machine. This is courtesy of your pain in the butt and mine, Terry. Although, this time he may have gotten it right."

"Oh, Terry. You know, I think Cheyenne did mention something about this," Van said, his mind going back to last night. Cheyenne had been rambling on about something, but football had been on TV and he'd done his best to tune her out. "So, uh, you seem to be handling this well."

Turning her attention back to her copies, who were watching the two with mild interest, Reba replied, "'Seem to' being the key phrase. But honestly, everything was fine…until Adam ,'Mr. Full of Surprises,' decided to announce that his mother is coming in Friday to help with the wedding."

"Right, the Italian lady," Van said, remembering the petite woman's last visit. "_Excellent_ food, even better right hook. That woman hits people more than you, Mrs. H."

Glaring at him, Reba retorted, "_I know._ But I can't worry about that right now when I have two bigger problems." With an aggravated sigh, she indicated the copies. "My only solution so far is to have Elisa stay with you and Cheyenne. But I know she'll want to stay here with her son."

After a few seconds of thinking, Van suggested, "Well, while I'd love to have an Italian cook in the house…you could do it the other way around. They can stay at my house… Cheyenne's been bugging me to clean out my closet anyway…"

"Hey, I only work for Reba," Reba 2 argued. "You want a clean closet, you'll just have to learn not to be such a dang slob."

Taken aback, Van stared at the original Reba in horror. "Mrs. H, is that really what you think of me?"

"You'll have to excuse her. She just washed Jake's laundry that he'd been hiding under his bed for a week," Reba explained. "And I did think of that. But won't having two of me around…well…drive you nuts?"

_She has a point,_ Van thought. Often, _one_ Mrs. H was more than he could handle. But…Mrs. H was in a tight spot, and after she helped them so much, he couldn't say no. And Cheyenne was so busy lately, he doubted she'd mind having two of her mother around to help out. "Well, uh, you need help. Consider it a thank you for everything you've done for us."

"Aw, you're sweet, Van. Thank you," Reba replied, hugging him in gratitude.

His face slightly red once they broke apart, Van asked, "So the kids are upstairs?"

"Yeah, I actually just checked on them when I was looking for a file," Reba 1 answered before either of the other Reba's could. "I saw Elizabeth's school folders…no wonder she said her mother always loses her permission slips, it's a nightmare. I organized her papers in an accordion folder and put it in her schoolbag."

"Uh...thanks…" Van replied, surprised. Glancing at the two, he leaned in to whisper to the original Reba, "Are they always like that?"

"What do you mean?" Reba answered, mocking his whisper.

Van shrugged. "I don't know…so…creepily helpful?"

"They have been so far. And it's not creepy!" Reba argued.

Nodding in agreement to placate her, Van muttered "_right_" under his breath on his way up the stairs.

* * *

Adam stood in the entryway of what was now his home and put his coat on. It was early Friday afternoon, and he was going to the local airport to pick up his mother. He'd been feeling nervous all week, and now it was getting to the point where his hands were shaking so much, he could barely close the coat's zipper. He was the first to admit that mother was more than a little intimidating and, well, scary. With everything going on for the past few days…it was very possible this trip could be a complete disaster. 

Looking up as his fiancé came down the stairs, he glanced at her as if startled. Then he wrinkled his brow and asked, "Which one are you?"

"The original, don't worry," Reba answered, raising an eyebrow as he struggled with the coat zipper. "You need help?"

Adam could feel his face turn red. With resolve, he forced the clasp together and yanked up the metal piece. "Nope, got it. You want to come with me?"

"Hah, me, you, and your mother alone in a car? During an hour ride from the airport?" Reba pointed out, pausing to let him form the image in his head.

Nodding as the desired mental scene formed, Adam kissed her on the cheek. "Right. See you later. Uh…do me a favor and make sure _they're_ gone, please?"

"By they, do you mean my newfound clones, or Brock and Barbara Jean?" Reba asked.

Adam groaned. After a year of dating Reba, his mother _still_ hadn't met the ex-husband and his new wife. At first, he'd decided it would be for the best if the two parties didn't meet. Elisa was old fashioned in some ways. She wouldn't understand how any woman with self-respect could maintain a healthy family relationship with her ex, or who used to be his mistress.

Months later, circumstances prevented the two from meeting. Elisa didn't come to Texas often, but the times she did, she kept missing them. Either the couple had been out of town, or…well…avoiding her. With the wedding, it was inevitable that they would have to meet.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Adam just replied, "All of the above."

About fifty minutes later, Adam passed by the front of the airport entrance. He'd intended to pass it on his way to find a spot, but stopped short when he saw a woman in her late sixties. She was standing next to a large suitcase that looked as if it would be impossible for a person with her small build to carry. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he pulled up to the curb and leaned out the window. "_Ma_, what are you doing? I said I'd meet you at the gate!"

"We landed early and you took too long," Elisa Jacobson replied, opening her arms wide. "Now get out here and hug your mother hello!"

Still frustrated, he got out of the car and returned the tight hug his mother gave him. "I still don't see why you couldn't have waited. You knew I was coming."

"Waiting is for people who have time to wait. Is Reba with you?" Elisa asked, glancing at the car.

Adam shook his head. "No, she, uh, wanted to but she had some business to take care of first."

Her styled, curled raven hair bouncing as she shook her head, Elise replied, "I'll bet, with that craziness she lives with. Two careers and a wedding to plan. In my day, a woman didn't…"

"Ma, please," Adam interrupted. "You _just_ got here. Can't you wait…I don't know…a few days before you start judging my future wife?"

Elise glared at him, her brown eyes narrowed. "You watch that tone. But I'll try to play nice. Just as long as you keep me away from that blonde hussy."

"_Ma_! You haven't even met Barbara Jean! She's actually a very sweet…if slightly crazy…woman!" Adam protested, with some effort tossing her suitcase into the trunk. Rubbing his arms, he stared at her in amazement. "How did you lift that thing?"

Shrugging, Elise explained, "It has wheels. And I paid a nice man a dollar to get it off the conveyer belt."

"You could've waited for me," Adam muttered under his breath. She still glared at him, and he gave her a weak smile as they got in the car and drove off.


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Woohoo! Midterms _over_, ladies (and gentlemen?)! Woohoo, I rule all, mini-wave and victory dance in celebration of me! does happy dance (To quote Chandler Bing from "Friends" - I couldn't reisst, been referencing that show a lot lately). Anyway, as you may have guessed, my days of stressed out studying are over...untill finals in a little over a month, anyway...so let us celebrate with fanfiction updates!

Thank you for the amazing reviews so far, and enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Standing in front of her children like a sergeant and her troops, Reba demanded, "Now, for the next few weeks while Elisa is here, what are we?"

In response, Jake, Cheyenne, and Van answered in unison, "A perfectly normal family." They were all in the living room, waiting for Adam to get back from picking up his mother. For the past hour, Reba had been drilling rules and codes of behavior to follow while Elisa was there.

"Right," Reba replied, nodding in approval. Looking at Jake, she asked, "And you?"

Making an obvious attempt not to roll his eyes, Jake answered in a robotic voice, "'A happy and well-adjusted teenager.' Which I really think gives us away - are teenagers _supposed_ to be happy and well-adjusted?"

"They are in my house. Cheyenne and Van?" Reba continued, glancing at the two.

The couple replied, again in unison, "'Our marriage is absolutely fine, with no problems at all.'" Cheyenne glared at her mother, outraged by the enforced false image. While Van was just pained by having to recite idiotic phrases he wouldn't remember anyway.

Reba nodded a second time, satisfied for the moment. _Maybe this won't be so bad…eh, who am I kidding, this is going to be a disaster. But the least we can do is try._ Offering a weak smile, Reba said, "Well, I think that covers it. Y'all just sit there and look nice until…"

She was cut off by noise coming from the front porch. Adam and Elisa's voices could be heard. They seemed to be arguing, but in a way that was playful and common. Relieved that the two weren't in the midst of a shouting match, Reba straightened her shirt and prepared herself.

Unfortunately, she wasn't prepared to see herself come down the stairs. "_Crap_. What are you doing here?" Reba exclaimed, while the kids turned around in surprise.

Startled herself, Reba 1 stared back. "I forgot some papers. Don't worry, I'm going." There was some resentment in that last statement – she wasn't too pleased at having been booted out of "her own house."

"There's not enough dang time for that! They're on the porch!" Reba exclaimed, working herself into a panic as the front doorknob turned. When the copy didn't take the hint and only walked further down the stairs, Reba felt her heart begin to pound. _Oh Lord…_

Seeing no other option as the door opened, Reba dove behind the arm of the couch that was closest to the dividing wall. Peering over the edge and down at his crouching mother-in-law, Van asked, "Mrs. H, wouldn't you be better off…"

"Hush up and pretend she's me!" Reba snapped in a whisper. So she could see what was going on, she poked her head out of the side just enough that she wouldn't be noticed.

Walking into the room, Adam paused when the kids nearly jumped off the couch, and Reba 1 just stood there with files in her hand. It was clear on his face that he sensed something was off, but he couldn't figure out what. Before he could ask, however, Elisa barged in. "Reba, it's so good to see you! You look fantastic, dear."

As she wrapped the startled copy in a bone-crushing hug, Reba 1 replied, "It's great to have you here….how was the –"

"Oh, just look at my future grandbabies!" Elisa gushed, going over to hug Jake. Breaking apart, she asked, "Where's Kyra?"

"She's in New York, recording a single…" Adam trailed off as his mother acknowledged the response. His gaze drifted downwards…and spotted Reba peeking from behind the couch. His eyebrows shot up; he did a double-take at Reba 1…and realized what was going on. "Oh my _God_."

Surprised, Elisa turned to stare at him while she had an arm around Cheyenne. "What's the matter, dear?"

Adam traded glances with the kids, who tried as subtly as possible to indicate that they had no idea what to do about the situation. Clearing his throat, Adam tried to recover as he blurted, "N-nothing, I, uh…think…_you_," he began, glancing at Reba 1. "Need to get s-something in the kitchen, _don't you_, honey?"

"W-what…_oh_. Oh yes. I think the lasagna's almost done," Reba 1 replied, catching on and sighing with relief.

As soon as she headed into the kitchen, Reba crawled as fast as she could into the kitchen after her, without being noticed by Elisa. Standing up, Reba made sure the door and sliding panel over the divider was closed before turning to her copy. "That was entirely too close."

"Couldn't agree with you more. I'm out of here," Reba 1 replied. Then she made a beeline for the back door without waiting for a response.

Relieved that the incident was solved, Reba realized that the lasagna was done and went to get it out of the oven. Minutes later, she went back into the living room and said, "The lasagna's almost ready. It just needs to cool a few minutes."

"That was sweet of you to make that, Reba. Though I hope it wasn't too much of a challenge…" Elisa trailed off, giving Reba's outfit a once-over. "Weren't you wearing a different outfit before?"

Reba's eyes widened as she looked down at her shirt and jeans, which were very different from the suit Reba 1 had been wearing. Gulping, Reba tried to appear nonchalant as she replied, "Uh, no, not at all…what makes you say that?" Ignoring the glare Adam gave her, she sent up a silent prayer of thanks when Elisa just shrugged and accepted the lie without argument.

* * *

The next day, Barbara Jean sat on a stool at the kitchen counter with Savannah on her lap. While the baby tried to grab at Barbara Jean's sparkly earrings, the mother kept her attention on the kitchen table. Much like Lori Ann had the other day, the younger blonde watched Reba with mounting anxiety. But this time, it wasn't because of disorganized chaos – it was because of the barely contained resentment showing in the redhead's eyes.

_She's gonna burst any moment now,_ Barbara Jean thought, biting her tongue. Reba and Elisa were seated at the kitchen table planning the wedding. It was all the blonde could do to keep herself from jumping in every five minutes with suggestions and opinions. True, both Reba and Adam wanted a small, modest wedding, but there were still too many details to plan in such a short amount of time. While it had been about a year since Adam proposed, Reba had been so preoccupied that she'd waited until the last minute to start getting this wedding together. That was almost three months ago, but in terms of wedding planning it might as well have been a week.

So because of that, Reba and Elisa had more than enough to do that Saturday afternoon. When she first heard of the plans, Barbara Jean felt somewhat left out – she'd never gotten a chance to meet Elisa, and was looking forward to getting to know the new member of their family. Then, finally on Friday, Reba pulled her aside and asked her to join them…after assuring her that the invitation was only offered because the thought of spending a whole day alone with Elisa terrified her. Unbothered by the reason, Barbara Jean agreed in a heartbeat.

Later on that night when they got home, Brock had suggested in so many words that maybe it would be best for Barbara Jean to stay out of the whole thing. While insulted at the time….she was beginning to think that maybe he was right.

First and foremost…Elisa hated her. Well, not _her_ – the future mother-in-law couldn't get over…well…how Barbara Jean and Reba met in the first place. Oh, Elisa was civil, of course. But it was so sickeningly sweet that even Barbara Jean caught on to the act. The blonde was doing her best to get on Elisa's good side, and to some extent it was working, but…it would be a _long_ time before Elisa thought of her as anything more than a marriage-wrecker.

Second, it was clear that Reba and Elisa didn't mesh at all. The two were way too similar – both were stubborn as heck, opinionated, and had a mean temper. But there were also little differences that made themselves known. While Reba was pretty much an open book when it came to her emotions, Elisa was so controlled that you couldn't tell what she was thinking at all. A small matter that was driving both her and Reba nuts.

And while Reba liked to argue her case until she won someone over, Elisa just said what she thought and that was it. For instance, during an entire hour, the only conversation went back and forth where Elisa's one line was "There should be six kind of appetizers." Reba argued as much as she could that the amount was too many for the crowd they had, and used every reason she could come up with.

Now the caterer was set to make six appetizers.

At the moment, the two were fighting over table centerpieces. Another matter that really wasn't helping the situation at all was that when it came to trimmings and food, Reba tended to believe that less was more. A policy that Elisa thought was ridiculous.

While Barbara Jean tried not to roll her eyes as Elisa suggested a dozen white lilies, she didn't notice that Savannah's hand was getting closer to its goal of snagging one of her earrings. Right as Barbara Jean was about to open her mouth, Savannah grabbed one of the silver hoops and tugged…_hard_.

"Oh sweet Jesus!" Barbara Jean shouted. Jumping out of her seat, she managed to free the earring from her daughter's hand just as it was about to be ripped from her ear. "Savannah, no! Don't pull on mommy's earring!"

Meanwhile, Reba and Elisa had brought their arguing to an abrupt halt to stare in a mixture of amusement and annoyance. Sighing, Reba suggested, "Barbara Jean, maybe you should put Savannah in the playpen. Isn't it about time for her nap anyway?"

"Yeah, I'm going. You two…don't kill each other while I'm gone, okay?" Barbara Jean pleaded, only half-joking. If there was one thing she did all afternoon, it was play referee.

Crossing her arms, Elisa retorted, "I don't know what you're talking about. Reba and I are getting along just fine, aren't we, Reba?"

Her eyes tired, Reba just shrugged. In an empty attempt at sarcasm, she added, "Yeah, we're practically best buddies."

"_Okay_ then," Barbara Jean said under her breath, taking Savannah into the living room, where the playpen was set up. _Oh yeah, Reba's definitely gonna burst. Or scream out of sheer frustration._

Kissing Savannah on the forehead, Barbara Jean gently placed the baby down in the cushioned playpen. "Have a good nap, sweetie." The baby was fast asleep before she turned around.

As she did, the phone rang. Hearing Reba and Elisa arguing again, Barbara Jean figured that neither of them would answer it any time soon and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Barbara Jean?"

"Van? What's up?" Barbara Jean asked, noting how stressed he sounded.

There was a loud, aggravated groan before Van got back on the line. "Dang! I was hoping you'd be gone by now!"

Indignant, Barbara Jean replied, "That's nice of you – "

"No, that's not what I meant," Van insisted. "It's just that you three have been over there for a while – I was hoping you'd be going shopping or _something_. Reba 1 over here says she left some things there and _apparently_ they're really important."

Feeling sorry for him as she imagined the nagging he must be enduring, Barbara Jean answered, "Well, I'm really sorry Van, but Reba and Mrs. Jacobson just got to talking about centerpieces. We're not going anywhere any time soon."

"Dang it! Can we at least send Reba 1 over to your house for a little while? She's making me crazy!"

"Van, they're supposed to stay there for a few _weeks_, and they've been there for about one day. You're going to have to be a little more patient," Barbara Jean reminded him.

"You don't get it," Van almost whined, lowering his voice. "It's different than having the regular Mrs. H stay here. While they're both Mrs. H, they're not _exactly_ like her. I think of it as…a cloning machine worked, but it's not _quite_ perfect, you know? Not to mention both of them act like they're hopped up on caffeine. All the time."

Intrigued, Barbara Jean replied, "Really? That's interesting…you know, Van, why don't I come over…to help keep them busy. It'll have to be later, though. I just put Savannah down for a nap now."

"Thanks, Barbara Jean," Van said, sounding relieved. "See you later."

"See you," Barbara Jean said, hanging up the phone. As a particularly loud shout came from the kitchen, she glanced in that direction and sighed. Between Elisa and Reba's copies, it would only be a matter of time before drama and chaos took over.

* * *

Adam checked himself in the bedroom mirror, straightening out the wrinkles in his polo shirt. He ran a hand through his brown hair, noticing that he'd need to get a haircut but could probably wait until the wedding. Satisfied, he mused that he probably should be a little wary – after all, according to Reba, the copies had come out of the same one. He'd almost just stuck to the bathroom mirror, but dismissed it as ridiculous.

"You're not gonna start talking back to me, right?" Adam asked his reflection, almost serious.

"Not unless you deserve it."

"Ah!" Adam exclaimed, looking around for the source of the voice. His heart returned to its normal pace when he spotted his mother leaning in the doorway, an amused smirk on her face. "_Ma_! Don't do that!"

Laughing, Elisa walked into the room and replied, "What? Did you really think it was going to talk back to you?"

_That's a very strong possibility in this house,_ Adam thought, but swallowed the lump in his throat and answered, "I-I was…I was….just messing around. Aren't you hanging out with Van and Cheyenne tonight?" _While the copies stay here and give them a break…_

"Yes, I'm going. Is it too much to ask to say hello to my son, who I haven't seen all day?" Elisa asked, fixing his appearance as she talked, doing such things as rearranging his hair and buttoning another button of his shirt. Making a clicking sound with her tongue, she chided, "I swear, in my day, a man took a lady out to a nice restaurant and wore a suit."

"Well, welcome to 2009," Adam deadpanned.

"So, answer my question," Elisa pressed. "Where did you sneak off to today?"

Adam lowered his eyes as she tried to stare into them. The thought of spending the whole day surrounded by women was not a pleasant one, so he'd headed to work with the intention of getting some of his paper filed. But then a buddy of his had called, and he'd spent all day bowling with his friends. So he compromised and told a half truth. "I went to the office."

"Sure. And when Melinda was planning your first wedding, you were working hard at the store," Elisa retorted, not buying his excuse.

Suddenly uncomfortable as a thought occurred to him, Adam asked, "Ma…you didn't…talk about Mel when you spent the day with Reba and Barbara Jean, did you?"

"Oh, God no. I do have _some_ tact," Elisa snapped, glaring at him for the suggestion.

_Thank goodness for that_, Adam thought. Mel, his first wife, had died of an abrupt heart attack a few years ago. Mel and his mother had got along in about the same way Elisa and Reba did. Yet, whenever Elisa spoke of her, it was with the highest regard. Adam could only imagine how awkward that would have been for his fiancé. "That's good…very good. And frankly all I need or want to know."

"Well, too bad, because you're going to hear about it anyway," Elisa said. "Let me be the first to say that your fiancé is _boring_. 'I'm wearing a simple dress.' 'I don't want a live band.' 'Do we _really_ need a dozen flowers in every centerpiece?' Honestly, Adam, she's like the female version of you in that respect."

"Nothing wrong with that. It's _our_ wedding, okay? We've both done this once before. Making a big production out of things would be tacky," Adam reminded her. He and Reba had discussed the possibility of a huge reception for about two seconds before they realized neither of them wanted it. Yes, they would have it in a reception hall, but nothing fancy or outrageous.

"Yes, well, that's certainly true," Elisa grumbled in agreement. "I hope it's big enough that there's room for your own son. I haven't heard when he's coming in yet."

"He'll be here in a week. In fact, I think that's when Kyra is coming in too," Adam answered. That was another thing he and Reba had in common – they both had kids who were often too far away. Hearing a car horn sound outside, Adam suggested, "You better go downstairs, Ma. I think that's Van."

"I know. Well, you and Reba have a good time tonight, and I guess I will be seeing you tomorrow morning," Elisa said, kissing him on the cheek as she went out the door.

Minutes later, he was walking downstairs, prepared for a rare treat – alone time with Reba. She came into view, perched on the couch with a small purse in her lap. He let out a low whistle of approval at her long black dress. "Wow."

"Wow yourself. But one thing…" Reba said, laughing as she walked over to him and undid one of the polo shirt buttons. "There, that's better. Ready to go?"

Feeling relaxed already, Adam paused when he noticed something. The house was empty. "Hey, um, where is everyone?"

"Well, Jake is sleeping over at a friend's house," Reba answered. "And my twins decided to stay at Barbara Jean's house. As it turned out, Brock's friend invited him on a golf weekend at the last minute, and Barbara Jean said he could go."

"Brock's a lucky guy," Adam joked. "Either that or Barbara Jean is very forgiving."

"I think the fact that she has two of me to hang out with had something to do with it," Reba said with a laugh.

Thinking about what he just learned, Adam said, "So let me get this straight…Jake is at a party…my mother is staying at Van and Cheyenne's…and your doubles are at Barbara Jean's. If I'm not mistaken, that means…"

"That we have a reservation and should get going," Reba reminded him, putting her purse over her shoulder. "I mean, we told your mother we'd be going out…leaving her at Cheyenne and Van's when we're here alone wouldn't be fair. And we're already dressed."

Letting out a disappointed sigh, Adam muttered, "Yeah, right."

About to open the door, Reba stopped, seemingly thinking something over. Then she whirled around. "What if…the restaurant's busy?"

"I doubt…that it wouldn't be," Adam answered, catching on.

Still leaning on the door, Reba reasoned, "Well, then there is a very good chance they would give away our reservation before we even get there…isn't it?"

Adam nodded in agreement. "Those hosts at _Antonio's_ were always a little too eager."

"And then we'd be stuck without a reservation. On a Saturday night," Reba predicted, barely maintaining a straight face.

"Absolutely," Adam said, trying to keep down a chuckle himself. "And then we'd be driving around all night. We could run out of gas."

"Or get so tired that we'd crash into some animal crossing the road," Reba offered. "Adam, we can't go out! Think of the poor woodland creatures!" Finally they both looked at each other and doubled over laughing. Regaining composure, she said, "I'll lock the door if you get the take out menus."

"Deal," Adam replied, turning to go into the kitchen. When he heard the click of the lock, he turned around. She was already running her hands through her curled hair as she ran up the stairs to get changed.

* * *

A/N: In the last section, Adam says, "Welcome to 2009." Since my beta thought it was a mistake, I just want to take a moment and remind everyone that this takes place _next_ January. For some reason, it's become a tradition with these stories to have them take place in January (with the exception of the second one), so I thought it'd only be right if Reba's wedding took place in that month.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A/N: Wow, another update – I think I tore through this chapter in three days flat. It was fun to write!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"Okay, here we go," Reba began, indicating the take out feast spread out on the coffee table. Sitting next to Adam on the couch, she pointed to each entrée as she listed them.

"We've got friend rice, dumplings, egg rolls, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, tacos, nachos, and the ever popular extra cheese pizza. Me, I'm going for those cheeseburgers over there, and don't you try to stop me."

As he watched his fiancé pile food on her paper plate, Adam sighed with contentment. "I have never loved you more."

"You'll be singing a different tune in about five seconds when I've got grease stains all the way down my shirt. But I appreciate the sentiment," Reba said, laughing. She kissed him on the cheek before she sat down, all the while balancing her full plate in her hand.

"Hey, just as long as you don't mind the gas that's gonna be coming out of all sorts of bodily places tonight, I really don't care," Adam retorted, starting to fill up his own plate. He paused for a second, surveying the mounds of fat and grease on the coffee table. "Remind me why we did this."

Around a mouthful of burger, she replied, "Because we couldn't decide what place to order from. And the kids aren't here to grab all my favorites before I can get to them. But that's just a bonus for me."

"You must've been waiting for this moment a long time," Adam said, eating through the small mountain on his plate as he spoke. "Cheyenne's married and in her own house. Kyra's been on tour or out recording for a while now. And Jake's only got…what…four more years to college. Soon enough you'll be able to order whatever you want."

Shrugging, Reba stopped eating for a moment to consider his words. Honestly, she'd been so busy for the past few years that she never realized that she was fast on her way to becoming an empty-nester. Gulping down the food still in her mouth, she began to feel almost depressed at the thought of not having Jake around, or Kyra. And already it was getting to the point where she only saw Cheyenne when the mother dropped off or picked up the kids. "Oh, right…"

"What's the matter? What did I say?" Adam asked, frowning at what must have been the distressed look on her face.

Reba's head snapped up, as if remembering that Adam was still sitting next to her. After about two seconds of momentary depression, she smiled, already feeling the emotion melt away. Maybe this would've been a tragedy five years ago. But now, here she was, about to get married to a man she loved. As if that wasn't enough, she was starting a flourishing singing career, and her real estate business was going strong. Yes, maybe she wouldn't get to see her kids as much as she used to, but…change was part of life. If that change was good, and it was, who was she to argue? Her smile wide, she assured him, "It's nothing, I'm fine. Pass me that soda, please?"

"No problem," Adam said, doing as she asked. But it was clear by the way he glanced at her that he could tell something was up. "Alright, out with it. What's with the smile?"

Chuckling, Reba answered, "Nothing, just once again realizing how lucky I am at this point in my life."

"Huh. May I remind you of Clone 1 and Clone 2 staying at Barbara Jean's house?" Adam replied.

Sighing, Reba replied, "Yeah, I know. Don't remind me."

Adam raised an eyebrow at that. "So I take it literally having more of you to go around isn't as great as everyone thinks it would be."

"I wouldn't say that, exactly," Reba said, chewing on a piece of fried chicken while she spoke. "Don't get me wrong – I definitely needed a break. I was so stressed, I honestly don't know how I managed to get through the day."

"But…" Adam prodded.

Once again, Reba shrugged as she continued, "I'm just not _used_ to it. My normal routine is to focus on a million different things at once. Focusing on only one thing – the wedding – is getting old, real fast. Especially now that I have your mother helping me. There's just not that much to do. I'm worried that I'll find myself getting bored soon, but I won't be able to do anything about it because people keep doing my work for me!"

Adam stared at her a long moment before finally shaking his head. "You are one strange woman."

"Yeah, it sounds ridiculous," Reba conceded. Realizing what she said, her and Adam both burst out laughing. "Okay, I know, 'how can anything sound ridiculous anymore.' I guess I should warn you that I'm not the most normal person around."

At that, Adam just chuckled. "Reba, if you were, I wouldn't be sitting here with tomato sauce on my chin, eating my way to a heart attack. And frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Well, I'd probably clean that cheese off your fingers before you get it on my couch. Then you'll no longer be sitting there, cause I'd have to kill you," Reba joked, handing him a napkin.

"What?" Adam asked, then looked down at his hand. "Weird. How'd that get there?"

"Same way that piece of taco meat got on your shirt. You start cleaning yourself up – I'll go get some paper towels," Reba said, getting up and heading into the kitchen.

"Hey, Reba?" Adam called. "You also might want to get some napkins for that soy sauce on your jeans' back pocket…"

Reba paused, turning to try and see. "Where? How could I possibly get soy sauce…"

"Made you look," Adam interrupted, a childish grin on his face.

Feigning exasperation, Reba couldn't hold back her smile as she called back, "Yeah, that was real mature."

* * *

Cheyenne held on to her daughter's hand on the way up the front path of their house. She'd just picked up Elizabeth from school, and had maybe an hour before she needed to get going for her next class. Between getting the kids settled and folding the laundry that she'd left in the dryer, she was lucky if she would be able to choke down a snack before she went back out the door.

Little Brock in her arms, she tried to search through her pocketbook for her keys. They were no where to be found. "Elizabeth, honey, did you take the keys out of Mommy's purse again? How many times have I told you not to do that?"

"It wasn't me," Elizabeth insisted, pointing an accusing finger at her younger brother.

Sighing with impatience, Cheyenne chided, "You know you're not supposed to blame your brother for something you did. Trust me, there's only so many times you can get away with it before he starts talking and ruins _everything_."

"Are you talking about Uncle Jake?" Elizabeth asked, smirking.

"_No_," Cheyenne fibbed, narrowing her eyes at the six-year-old. "And even if I was, that is _not_ the point…"

Their conversation stopped when the door suddenly swung open. Surprised, since Van wouldn't be home until later, Cheyenne took a hesitant step in the house. No one was supposed to be there – her mother's doubles had been staying at Brock and Barbara Jean's since Saturday. "H-Hello?"

"Hey, Cheyenne."

It was her mother's voice. Still unsure, Cheyenne made her way into the house to find Reba, sitting at the living room coffee table and folding the aforementioned laundry. "Hey…uh…Mom?"

"Don't mind me. I just found this in the dryer and decided to help you out," Reba answered.

Cheyenne remained standing, trying to decide which Reba she was speaking to. _Well, it can't be Reba 1. She's at work. So this is either the real Mom or Reba 2…but how can I tell without – _

"Which Grandma are you?" Elizabeth blurted, running over to sit next to the suspected double. She knew about the copies, but had been given specific instructions not to mention them in front of Elisa. There were several close calls so far – the idea of three "Grandma Reba's" was fun and exciting to the child.

Chuckling, Reba turned to her and asked, "What do you think?"

Elizabeth paused, as if giving the question serious consideration. "Well…you're folding laundry…and I smell cookies in the oven. So you can't be the real Grandma, 'cause her cookies are always store bought. You're Grandma 2!"

"Very good. You are one smart kid, Elizabeth," Reba 2 said, giving the child a congratulatory hug. "Those cookies you smelled are almost done. Let's go get some!"

"Okay!" Elizabeth squealed, running into the kitchen.

"Here, Cheyenne, let me take him," Reba 2 said, holding Little Brock in her arms once the bewildered blonde handed him to her. "You go rest until your class."

"T-Thanks," Cheyenne replied, as if coming out of a trance. "W-What are you doing here?"

Little Brock on her hip, Reba 2 explained, "Brock came back from his trip this morning, and I think the idea of three copies of his ex-wife still freaks him out a little. As much fun as that is to see, I figured I'd give him a break."

"You're much more considerate of Dad's feelings than the real Mom," Cheyenne noted, causing Reba 2 to laugh. The turn of events did worry her, however. When both doubles were there, they were close to driving her and Van absolutely nuts. She was concerned there might be a repeat of the process when Reba 1 got home from work that night. Today, Monday, marked the first time since Saturday that her and Van would once more have extra houseguests. And they'd both relished the relative quiet. Clearing her throat, she asked, "S-So you _and_ Reba 1 are going to be here? Tonight?"

Giving her a reassuring smile, Reba 2 answered, "No. After a short talk with all four of us – including Brock and Barbara Jean, that is – we compromised. Even we know that having two of us around is a little much to take, so Brock gave in and is letting Reba 1 stay there."

Cheyenne let out a sigh of relief, making a mental note to do buy her father something _very_ expensive for his next birthday. "Thanks. I really appreciate that, and I'm sure Van will when he gets home to find only one of you here."

"I'm sure. I'll be right back – Elizabeth is in the kitchen waiting patiently for cookies," Reba 2 replied, lifting Little Brock higher on her hip as she carried him into the kitchen.

Looking after her, Cheyenne was hit with a sudden realization that Elizabeth had been almost eerily observant for a kid her age. Even Cheyenne hadn't made the connection between the smell of baking cookies and this Reba's true identity. Remembering other similar instances – especially in these unusual circumstances – Cheyenne concluded that Kyra's odd knack for catching small observances that others missed had been passed on to her child. Either that, or Elizabeth had ESP. Since the latter option scared her, she settled on the former and pushed the subject out of her mind for the moment.

At the sound of the door opening again, Cheyenne whirled around. "Mom!" she exclaimed, surprised by the redhead's appearance for the second time in mere minutes.

"Can you guess which one I am?" Reba joked, closing the door behind her.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Cheyenne answered, "I know it's the real you. Reba 2 is in the kitchen feeding my children cookies."

"Oh, she finally escaped from Barbara Jean, I guess," Reba said, walking further into the house. "What's with you, Cheyenne? You look…I don't know…overwhelmed."

Cheyenne wrinkled her brow in confusion, then discovered that she'd been standing in the same spot ever since she walked in, her coat still on and her purse still slung over her shoulder. Shaking her head, she took off her coat and hung it up along with her purse on the nearby coat rack. "It's…nothing. Reba 2 just _really_ surprised me. Look over there – she's doing my laundry, for crying out loud! And she made cookies! Why don't you do that?"

"Well, technically, I do now," Reba retorted, sitting on the couch.

Sitting next to her, Cheyenne explained, "No, I meant…I'm not used to this. From you or anyone."

"It _is_ nice, isn't it?" Reba sighed, her chin in her hand. "I actually wish –"

Cheyenne's eyes widened as she interrupted, "Mom, no! Don't! Whatever it is, just _don't_!"

Laughing, Reba continued, "I was just going to say that I miss having her at my house to do my chores. But you're right, even with the star nowhere around, we shouldn't take any chances. Besides, Reba 2's absence lets me do housework, and at least it's something to do to keep me away from Elisa."

"I take it that's not going well?" Cheyenne asked, feeling sorry for her mother. With everything going on, a nagging mother-in-law was an unnecessary complication. She counted her blessings every day that Van's mother didn't come around much.

Throwing up her hands in frustration, Reba exclaimed, "The woman is driving me _crazy_! She's so phony and manipulative and so dang _stubborn_…"

Now Cheyenne did roll her eyes. The irony of that last adjective was simply too much to go unmentioned. "Mom, I think the problem here is that you two keep butting heads. Don't you always tell Van and I to pick our battles? You just have to let some stuff _go_ and remind yourself that she's leaving at the end of the month, and probably won't be back until Christmas."

"Yeah, I guess," Reba muttered, standing up and heading to the door.

Confused, Cheyenne said, "You're leaving already? Didn't you get here, like, five seconds ago?"

"I have to get back. Elisa and I were looking at the sample favors that came today, and since I knew that she wouldn't let me drink anything near them, I said I was going into the kitchen for some water," Reba answered, a satisfied smirk on her face. As she went out the door, she added, "The best part is, it's an excuse that keeps on giving. She won't think twice if I spend a half hour in the 'bathroom.'"

"Nice," Cheyenne laughed, giving her mother a thumbs-up as the redhead went out the door. Shaking her head, she headed into the kitchen, wondering how many cookies her children had consumed in her absence.

* * *

"Well, that was fun," Lori Ann deadpanned, walking with Reba to the redhead's office. "Next time we go to lunch, maybe you'll actually touch your food…instead of watching _me_ eat like a pig."

Reba gave her a sheepish smile as she opened the door to the office building that housed her real estate office. "I'm sorry, Lori Ann. It's just that after three days, my stomach is _finally_ settling down after my gorge fest on Saturday night. Talk about pig-like eating. Since I have that meeting today, I didn't want to take the chance that it would act up."

"You could've cancelled, then," Lori Ann argued, still irritated. There was nothing more uncomfortable than eating while the other person sits there and stares.

Looking apologetic, Reba replied, "Again, I'm sorry, but…I just needed to get _out_. Between Elisa and not being able to do work this past week, I'm on the verge of a melt down. Thankfully, I have a meeting today that I simply cannot let Reba 1 take over for me."

Lori Ann knew Reba herself had gone to work today – since they'd only had an hour for lunch – but she hadn't a clue as to the redhead's need for it. "Why is this meeting so important?"

Sighing, Reba explained, "Ever since I started my own company, this major real estate company has been trying to shut me down. So far it's been little stuff – stealing clients, etc. – but lately they've been pushing their luck. This meeting is with one of the company's representatives. Hopefully, I'll be able to put an end to this nonsense right now, and that will be it."

"That a girl, show 'em who's boss. What company is it?" Lori Ann asked.

Reba hesitated, then answered, "_Southern Village_."

Keeping her jaw from dropping, with some effort, Lori Ann remained silent while Reba gave her a hopeful smile. _She's nuts_, the blonde thought. _Southern Village_ was by far the most established real estate company in the area, being a chain that spanned nearly all the states along the Mexican boarder and Gulf coast. Everyone recognized their signs, which were placed in front of many houses for sale in any given area.

Unable to say anything encouraging, Lori Ann ignored Reba's expecting face – clearly waiting for words of reassurance – and kept her mouth shut for most of the elevator ride to the realtor's floor. Remembering something, Lori Ann asked, "Isn't that the company Van works for?"

"Yeah, ironically enough," Reba answered, looking unbothered by the fact. "They hired him last year since he was doing so well at the company he worked for when we stopped working together. We can't even talk business like we used to because of the tension created by our companies' not-so-friendly competition."

Frowning, Lori Ann said, "That's a shame. Van doesn't seem like the type who would stand for that."

"He doesn't like it at all, and tries not to be a part of stuff that directly hurts my business. But him and Cheyenne like the money. It's not a big deal, but we make a point of not talking about it," Reba replied.

Lori Ann just shrugged. While she didn't approve of Van's possible disloyalty to family, who was she to create drama? "As long as you're okay with that."

"I am," Reba insisted. "Van needs to make the best living he can. This is real good for him and Cheyenne, so I'm not complaining."

They arrived at the office and Lori Ann pushed open the door. It opened to a large seating area, at the head of which was a receptionist's desk, where a young woman was talking on the phone. To the left, the space flowed around a corner and went into a long corridor, where there was Reba's office, among others. "I'll be out of your hair in five minutes – I have to get back to work myself," Lori Ann assured her. "I was actually wondering if you had that book you borrowed. Afternoons tend to get a little slow."

"Yeah, it's in my office. Come with me – there are some other novels I thought you would like," Reba said. Before going into the corridor, Reba approached the desk. "Hey, Candace. Any messages?"

The addressed receptionist's head snapped up, and the bewildered girl stared at her boss in utter confusion. "B-but h-how…w-where…you were just…"

Lori Ann and Reba shared surprised yet knowing looks. Reba 2 must have come in. But why would she if Reba told her to stay home? Seeing that Reba wasn't quite sure how to explain, Lori Ann interrupted, "She, uh, went out the back hallway door. Um…she went into the office?"

"C-Can't you just ask her?" Candace replied, pointing to the Reba in front of her.

"Well, when I went out to meet Lori Ann here, I…" Reba trailed off, as Lori Ann gave her a helpless shrug. "…I, uh, have a _terrible_ memory. In fact, I probably can't remember why I went out to meet Lori Ann in the first place."

Nodding in support, Lori Ann added, "It really is tragic. She's a ditz."

At that, Reba gave her a sidelong glance with a clear message – _don't push it_. Turning back to Candace, Reba pressed, "Please, humor me."

"O_kay_ then," Candace muttered under her breath, then replied, "Yes, you went into your office about twenty minutes ago."

"Did she say why?" Lori Ann asked, noting that Reba's face was red from embarrassment. When Candace shook her head in the negative, Lori Ann and Reba took off down the corridor.

While still within earshot, Lori Ann heard the receptionist say to herself, "Wait, do we _have_ a back door to the hallway?"

"You're gonna have to give her a _big_ bonus check this year," Lori Ann joked, keeping up with panicked Reba on their way to the redhead's office.


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm b_ack_! I know, after six months none of you probably expected to see another chapter, but…what can I say, inspiration is a weird and unpredictable thing. I was skimming my old story outlines, came across one for the next story of this series, and decided to return to it. Yes, I came up with the next story a _while_ ago and wrote it down in summary-form, but I don't know if I'll write it, even if by some miracle I finish this one. Anyway, sorry about the wait/temporary abandonment, and I hope some of my previous _Reba_ readers will come back to this.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Reba tore down the hall, her best friend a few steps behind her. "I am _so_ dead!" she whispered in anger. "I'm going to kill me!"

"You better watch who you say that around, because then you'll be thought of as suicidal on top of crazy," Lori Ann pointed out, breathing heavy while she tried to keep up. "When the heck did you get so dang fast?"

"Keep up with a nut job mother-in-law and two grandchildren. You'll get in shape," Reba answered. They approached her office and slowed down to a stop. All offices were equipped with _glass_ doors. She had to be real careful that the _Southern Village_ representative didn't see her…or at least two of her at once. Hiding next to the door, she indicated for Lori Ann to look in the office. "What's going on in there?"

Lori Ann stood on the other side, trying to appear casual as she spied. "They're talking, looks like the meeting just started cause a really _cute_ guy just sat down…you know, Reba, how would you feel about me dating competition?"

"Focus! And you were calling _me_ a ditz!" Reba whispered.

Shaking her head, Lori Ann continued, "Right. She's, uh…she's smiling, probably small talk…uh oh."

Reba's eyes widened, fighting the mounting urge to storm in there and run damage control. "What…do you…mean…uh oh?"

"The guy doesn't look happy…you were both getting along well, and then even _I_ can tell the tension turned up a few notches," Lori Ann reported, her eyes glued to the scene in the room. "She just smashed her fist down on the desk, and she's glaring at him. I recognize that face – she's losing her temper! Dear Lord, Reba, you gotta do something, and quick!"

"Crap," Reba groaned, closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath. Her intention had been to tell them that she knew they had a copy of her client list and were using it against her. With some evidence she'd managed to gather, she was going to _calmly_ and _nicely_ ask them to back off or else face a law suit. Of course, she didn't have enough money for a lawyer that would be able to take the big company on, but she'd darn well use her best bluffing skills to make the representative think she had.

But all that was out the window now that "she" had lost her temper. Granted, it wasn't the first time her temper had been let off its leash. However, it _was_ the first time it happened, and it was someone else's fault. "Okay, we gotta fix this. Lori Ann, is the guy…Mr. Matthews, I think…facing the window?"

"Yeah. Arguing with you," Lori Ann answered.

Letting out a deep breath again, Reba instructed, "Now, go in there and tell her to come out here, _now_."

"I don't know if I want to do that," Lori Ann admitted. At Reba's glare, she recoiled and explained, "Well, you're angry, she's angry…one Reba with a loose temper is usually unsettling enough…"

"Oh, just do it!" Reba snapped.

"Exhibit A," Lori Ann muttered. Still, she rolled her shoulders back and went to open the door…only to find it locked. She waved to get the clone's attention to let her in, then her mouth fell open in shock. "She's ignoring me! That second-rate science project clone is actually ignoring me!"

Her hands on her hips, Reba breathed, "That load of dog poo." At Lori Ann's amused smirk, she said, "Wave your arms in the air or something."

"I most certainly will not!"

"Lori Ann!"

"You owe me for this," Lori Ann said. Then she faced the window and waved her arms in a wide arc. When she had the clone's attention, she jerked her thumb towards the hallway. "She's coming!" Lori Ann squeaked, pushing Reba to the side.

Reba 1 opened the door, and the two heard her say to the representative, "If you'll excuse me…oh, that squeak? We think the building might have a _rat_ problem."

"Lemme at her!" Reba exclaimed, holding up her fists as Lori Ann held her back.

Once the door was closed, Reba 1 glared at the two with annoyance. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"What am _I_ doing here?" Reba exclaimed. "What are _you_ doing here? This is _my_ office! I told _you_ to stay home today!"

"Hey, this is my office too! I can come whenever I dang well please, and _I_ wanted to handle the meeting!" Reba 1 argued.

Her hands on her hips, Reba retorted, "But I did _not_ plan on losing my temper!"

"Well, you should!" Reba 1 began, pacing between the corridor halls. "You and your calm attitude! He's a _competitor_ who's trying to squash you like a bug, and you were thinking of acting civil! You have a temper, you should use it!"

Surprised, Lori Ann remarked, "Well, now we know who the evil twin is in this situation…"

"I'm not evil!" Reba 1 snapped, making the blonde jump in fear. "I'm just Reba's competitive streak, the one's she tossed to the side in favor of her little singing career and her wedding and whatever else might come along! I'm telling you right now, missy," she warned, pointing a finger in scared Reba's face. "Your real estate career is your only steady stream of income right now, which is why you've been trying to hold on to it for so long as it is. Well, that's what I'm here for, and dang it, I intend to do my job…better than _you_ ever did. So you can just butt out, because this is office is _off limits_."

Reba stared at herself in a stunned daze. Blinking a few times, she managed to blurt, "Y-You're…you're _firing_ me? You can't do that!"

"I'm sorry, Reba, but I only accept employees who give one-hundred and _fifty_ percent. You've barely been giving fifty," Reba 1 replied, turning to go back to the meeting. "You can try whatever your little plan you can come up with, but be careful, or I'll have security escort _my twin sister_ and her friend off the premises."

With that, she gave them a superior smirk and went into the office, closing – and _locking_ – the door behind her.

Her mouth open in shock, Lori Ann recovered and said, "You're a _bitch_."

"I know. And frankly, it's scaring me. A lot," Reba replied, letting out the deep breath. It was then that she realized she'd been holding it all throughout her clone's rant. "Come on, let's go. We'll figure this out when we get to my house."

* * *

Her carry-on bag over her shoulder, Kyra walked towards luggage claim to find her mother waiting for her.

Or who she thought was her mother. She'd chatted with everyone on the phone a few times and was brought up to date on the present crisis. Hesitant, she slowly went across the huge area and stopped short of what would be considered her mother's personal space. Her mother opened her arms for a hug, but Kyra was quick to ask, "Okay, are you Thing 1, Thing 2, or original?"

"Very funny. It's me," Reba assured her, wrapping her daughter in a tight hug. "Oh, I've missed you. You've been in New York way too long."

"You say that every time I visit," Kyra replied, but hugged back with equal effort. There were several times in the big city when she'd just sat in her apartment thinking about how much she missed her mother. She'd even admitted to herself that she missed her siblings and other extended family as well.

Then she'd play a violent videogame with one of her band mates to get over the mood.

Pulling apart, her mother said, "And I mean it every time."

"I know. Honestly, I'm glad I had your wedding as an excuse to come home," Kyra confessed, then covered, "I-I mean, 'cause the band was getting on my nerves. Always being with three other guys can drive you nuts."

Reba looked pained, as if she were biting her tongue to keep herself from saying something. She hadn't been thrilled at the idea of Kyra going off on her own with three members of the opposite sex with no supervision. But given that Kyra was now nineteen, she had no say in the matter since the teen was paying her own way.

But to show she was growing up, Kyra had made a compromise. When the band wasn't touring, their home base was in New York City, to be close to the recording studio. Instead of sharing an apartment with the guys…which would have driven her family insane with worry…Kyra agreed to instead room in a townhouse with a cousin that lived in Queens. Cousin Sharon McKinley was a twenty-eight year old who still partied like a college student, but her place was better than the alternative.

"Mom, don't worry, I'm still living in the townhouse," Kyra assured her as they began walking. "In fact, Sharon says hi, and wondering when you're going to come to visit."

Reba scoffed at the idea. "Me, in New York? Can you imagine this country hick in the big city? I'd make a moron of myself the second I stepped off the plane."

"Aw, come on, Mom. You hang out with Barbara Jean. You must be immune to embarrassment by now," Kyra pointed out, making her mother laugh. Stopping, she asked, "Hey, aren't we going to stop and get my…"

"Bag? Got it right here," Reba answered, holding up a huge black duffle bag. "Was one of the first ones out. Come on, let's go!"

Staring at her, Kyra asked, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

Reba didn't answer for a long moment, then sighed. "Because the longer I'm away, the longer my clones have to wreak havoc. And man, can they wreak."

"The wish has finally turned on you, huh? Well, it couldn't last forever," Kyra said. However, she did feel bad for her mother. With this being the week before the wedding, none of the family needed to be dealing with this at the moment. Especially with Adam's mother still in town.

Making sure no one could overhear as they walked, Reba whispered, "But it's a million times worse than the others. Reba 1 went nutso and fired _me_ from _my_ job. I think she's living at the office since I haven't seen her, but I don't know. And Reba 2 is making Cheyenne pull her hair out, and you know how much Cheyenne takes pride in her hair. Apparently, maternal me has taken over the Montgomery household and won't give up authority. Basically I'm picking you up to escape the madness. Elisa and I may not get along, but God bless her oblivious heart for not catching on."

"Wow. And I thought I had it bad when Sharon gave me an hour lecture on proper laundry fold-age," Kyra remarked, amazed at how fast the situation had turned sour. "What are you going to do? Have you tried to call Terry?"

Reba nodded. "I've been meaning to call him but there just hasn't been _time_! Between the chaos at home and Elisa bothering me about wedding details every five seconds, it's been impossible! Hopefully we'll manage to find time over the weekend, and I can talk him into making them go away. Because, _clearly_, having my life taken over by psycho-clones is not helping. I mean, it may get me to slow down, but how can I enjoy life if it's _not mine anymore_?"

"You don't have to convince me. This is sounding like a bad horror movie – _Invasion of the Mom Clones_!" Kyra exclaimed with exaggerated terror.

Giving her a light swat on her shoulder, Reba argued, "Kyra, this isn't funny anymore! I'm really scared here! We all are! I'm losing my life, piece by piece!"

Kyra kept quiet after that as they approached Reba's car. While the concept could be seen as funny, it was actually pretty scary. With both Reba's taking over…what would the original do? And the clones probably wouldn't be satisfied with hiding out at the houses forever. How long would it be before they began to think about starting their own lives? "I'm sorry, Mom," Kyra replied. "I'm sure Terry will fix it."

They got in the car and drove home, forcing conversation to stay light and upbeat...a.k.a., Kyra rambled on her life in New York City while her mother listened. Normally Kyra wouldn't be so talkative, but given her mother's current condition, she relented. Of course, she omitted what she thought would make her mother cringe.

Which wasn't much. Though Kyra had a bad attitude most of the time, she was a good girl at heart.

"…and there's this café nearby that's our second home…" Kyra trailed off, noticing something as they pulled up. "Cheyenne's here?"

"Well, of course they would be for your visit. But I didn't expect them until later," Reba said, curious herself.

The two walked up to the house and went in, to find the whole family minus the kids (who were probably upstairs) gathered around the family room. Van, Barbara Jean, and Brock sat around the living room, while Cheyenne paced with anxiety. Giving them an uneasy smile, Kyra remarked, "Man, this a lame welcome home party."

Instead of retorting, Cheyenne whirled around to face her mother. "_You_!"

"Oh, no…" Reba froze in her spot, surprised. "What did I do now?"

"Your little Stepford Wife wannabe over there kicked me out of my own house!" Cheyenne yelled, barely containing her temper while Van jumped up to try to calm her.

While Reba's jaw dropped in shock and horror, Kyra replied, "What, no 'Kyra, we're so glad you're home'? Thanks everyone, I'm feelin' the love."

* * *

An hour later, Reba and the family still gathered in the living room. It turned out the babies were upstairs napping, while Henry was in a karate class and Elizabeth was on a play date. Adam was at work, and Elisa was off doing some wedding errands that did not need Reba's participation.

They were alone.

Cheyenne and Van had just finished explaining what happened. For the past few days, Reba 2 had been bullying Cheyenne more and more, taking over all household chores which she felt weren't being done right. Then it went from chores to making rules of the house. Reba 2 had gone from willing housemaid to control freak over time, undermining Van and Cheyenne's parenting…and even "correcting" the parents' behavior as well. Both Montgomery's had enough when Reba 2 argued with them about letting Elizabeth on the play date, Reba 2's point being that Elizabeth should be doing homework instead.

Finally the clone had stomped off…only to return five seconds later with the vacuum cleaner, intending to finish the living room, whether Van and Cheyenne were there or not. Fearing that their feet would be vacuumed off, the couple dashed out the door with their children in tow.

"As usual, I've ruined everyone's lives," Reba muttered, sinking into the easy chair while her family sat around her.

Raising an eyebrow at her, Brock remarked, "Isn't that usually my line?"

"Yeah, but you say it with more of a whine to it," Barbara Jean answered.

Letting out a deep sigh, Brock said, "Do me a favor, honey? Don't help."

"Look, I know wallowing in self-pity doesn't solve anything," Reba said, ignoring the exchange. "But why do these things happen to _me_? None of you have guardian angels who make your lives miserable."

"None of us are that lucky, I guess," Kyra remarked, grinning when her mother glared at her.

Sighing, Reba got up from the chair and said, "I guess I should try to call for Terry now that we have the chance." She paused to focus, then yelled, "Terry! Get your angelic behind here, _now_! I know you've been hiding from me, you chicken butt!"

* * *

A/N: I meant for the last section to be longer, but I'm just so tired and I wanted to have this up before I went up to school tomorrow. With some rearranging, consider this section a two-part one, and will be continued come next chapter.

I also apologize if this is a little, well, off. I haven't written for this category, or even watched the show, practically since I last updated and everything's a little fuzzy. Especially since I wrote both latter sections while on the verge of falling asleep at my laptop keyboard. Hope you enjoyed, anyway.


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: Decided to do some review responses since it's been a while...

_Rebaneller1955_: Yes, it is a "they're everywhere!" sort of situation, huh? Lol, glad you like the story.

_Katherine8790_: Good to see that you're reading again! Sorry for the long wait, and thanks for the review!

_Lost in Day Dreams_: Thank you so much, I can always count on your awesome reviews. Lol, it's always nice to give someone a "Holy crap" moment, glad I could do that for you. Now you have two updates in a week! I'm determined to finally finish this off quickly. So sorry to partially cause your loss of fanfiction faith, and glad I help you take steps toward restoration, lol.

-

Honestly, I don't even watch the show much in reruns anymore - it's not a show, for me at least, that I can watch the same episodes over and over. But I do enjoy these characters so much that I may in fact do that fifth story, but I still don't know for sure.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

He knew he was in trouble.

While he heard Reba's call, Terry tried to ignore it. He really tried. Though she was his charge, he was busy. Granting her wish had caused more of a mess than he predicted, and he knew that if he didn't find some way to reverse it quick, he would surely lose his wings…even if they were nonexistent.

So, yeah, he was in trouble with his _boss_. That was why he was afraid, why he was ignoring Reba's call. That was why.

Oh, who was he kidding?

It burned his manly, and angelic, pride to admit it, but he was _terrified_ that Reba was going to rip him a new one. If he did have wings, he was sure she'd destroy them feather by feather.

But it wasn't that he was a coward, oh no. It was a standard fact that anyone who knew Reba McKinley-Hart was scared of her, _especially_ when she was furious. If someone wasn't, he was either the bravest man alive or not human.

And even then…

_Terry! Where the heck are you?_

Cringing, Terry swallowed the nervous lump in his throat. Uh oh. That's never good.

"Now, Reba, before you hit me…" Terry muttered to himself, rehearsing what he would say. "I didn't _know_ the clones would go out of control! Who knew you were so tightly wound?"

Yeah, like _that_ would work.

_Terry!_

Seeing no other option, Terry put his hands together and prayed. "Please, don't let her kill me. I can't die twice!"

_Terry!_

"I'm coming," Terry muttered. Closing his eyes, he teleported down to Reba's living room. As he arrived he kept his arms in front of his head. "Hi, everyone."

Through his arms he could see Reba sitting on the arm of the easy chair, smirking at him. "What the heck are you doing?"

"Well, you're gonna hit me, aren't you?" Terry asked, still keeping his arms up.

"You might want to keep one arm in front, and one behind," Brock suggested from the couch, demonstrating with his own arms. "She goes for the back sometimes too."

Smirking, Kyra remarked, "Congratulations, Mom. Now even celestial beings are afraid of you."

"Oh, stop it, all of you. Terry, put your arms down, I'm not gonna hit you," Reba promised.

"Don't fall for that one. She might punch you in the stomach," Barbara Jean warned.

Crossing her arms, Reba said, "Terry, I promise you can put your arms down. I'm…I'm not even mad at you. I'm not mad at anyone."

The disappointed, resigned tone of her voice had the whole family looking at her with concern, to the point that Terry actually did lower his arms. Leaning forward on the couch, Cheyenne asked, "Mom…are you okay?"

"Yeah, usually when you call someone a chicken butt you're pretty steamed," Van argued.

"I know, and while directly I can blame you," Reba said, looking down at her hands. "But…I think I'm starting to realize this is my fault. I've been thinking this over and over…why couldn't I see that I was taking on more than I can handle? I mean, I literally told myself that I wasn't giving a hundred percent at work, and now my maternal side is on overdrive. Even before now my brain was telling me to slow down and I just wasn't listening. I know I need to listen, but I just don't know how."

Looking at her with sympathy, Barbara Jean said, "You know, it's not a crime to ask for help. You have us, and you have Adam now."

"You all have your own lives. I don't need to burden anyone with my problems," Reba insisted. "I'm just going to have to learn how to handle myself better. The problem before was that I lost track and didn't realize I was overwhelmed. For now on I'll just have to have better self-control. That's it."

The family and Terry traded nervous looks. That wasn't quite what Terry had in mind when he granted the wish, nor was it particularly healthy. "Uh, Reba…"

"Really, it's all a matter of pacing," Reba continued in an attempt to reassure them.

"Uh, Mom…" Cheyenne interrupted. "I think you should listen to Barbara Jean…"

Giving her sister a disbelieving look, Kyra replied, "You're trying to convince _Mom_ of something by telling her to listen to Barbara Jean? Are you new here?"

"The problem was that I got carried away since everything was happening at once. When the wedding's over, I'll be back on track," Reba reasoned, talking more to herself than the others at that point. Shaking her head, she turned to Terry. "See? I've got it all figured out. You can take my copies home now."

Terry raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, your trip around Denial Isle aside…"

"You can say that again," Brock grumbled under his breath.

"…I can't make your doubles go away," Terry admitted, avoiding eye contact. _This_ was the part that made him so afraid, why he was in danger of getting his figurative wings clipped.

Her hands on her hips, Reba argued, "Look, I know maybe the wish isn't as fulfilled as you would like, but they're driving everyone nuts! The career one even _fired me from my job_! The maternal one chased my kids out of their house! You can't…He can't…expect us to live with this!"

"Well, I don't know what the Big Guy has in store, but I agree with you," Terry admitted. Even he could see that the doubles were getting way out of control and that no wish was worth this. But the trouble was finding a way to do something about it. "See, ah, when I did this, I forgot to read part of the rules on the subject."

_That_ finally got Reba to glare at him in anger. "Excuse me?"

Aware that everyone in the room was glaring at him, Terry lowered his eyes and explained, "Making doubles of someone is risky. They can only remain mindless copies for so long. After a certain amount of time, they become human, developing their own thoughts and feelings. And therefore it would be against the rules to, well, make them just 'go away.' We haven't reached that point yet, but as time wears on, it becomes harder and harder to…fix the situation. Right now the only way there can be enough power to make them go away is if…your wish is fulfilled."

"But who knows how long that can take!" Reba exclaimed, raving mad. Out of pure frustration she slapped him upside the head.

Rubbing his aching head, Terry argued, "You said you weren't going to do that!"

"That was before I realized how much of a mo_ron_ you are!" Reba shouted. "I could be stuck like this forever?"

Van shook his head. "Dude, you screwed _up_. One thing I learned from real estate – you always read the fine print!"

"Don't worry. I promise, I'm working on it," Terry managed to say. Then, out of a combination of shame and fear of more verbal abuse, he vanished from the room.

* * *

"I suppose you're all wondering why I called you here today," Barbara Jean began, sitting at her own kitchen table. Sitting at the table were Cheyenne and Kyra. Lori Ann was perched on a stool at the counter, sipping the alcoholic beverage she'd been promised to get her to come to Barbara Jean's house in the first place.

Pretending to consider the statement, Kyra guessed, "Another Beanie Baby emergency?"

"Hah, remember the last one?" Cheyenne added, laughing. "She accused each and every one of us of stealing 'Amber the Gold Tabby.' She would've called the police on us if Dad hadn't found it under their bed."

"She's not an 'it,' Cheyenne, she is a _she_," Barbara Jean snapped, the traumatizing event fresh in her mind. "And _she_ is a highly valuable retired Beanie Baby! I had every right to threaten to call the cops!"

Taking another long sip of her drink, Lori Ann remarked, "Can we get this little meeting over with, please? I lose more brain cells the longer I listen to you."

Glaring at Lori Ann, then at Kyra when the teen laughed, Barbara Jean began, "Now, as you all know, Reba's wedding is Saturday, seven days from today. As the women in Reba's life, we are obligated…to throw her a bachelorette party."

"But I thought Mom didn't want a bachelorette party," Cheyenne said, confused.

"Please, Reba's so frazzled these days she doesn't know what she wants," Barbara Jean argued, waving a dismissive hand at Cheyenne's concern. "Trust me, she _needs_ this party or else she'll be too wound up to walk down the aisle."

Kyra frowned, unconvinced. "I don't know about that. Mom just doesn't seem like the crazy bachelorette party type."

"She might not like it at first, but she'll loosen up and enjoy it," Barbara Jean replied.

Sipping her drink in silence while the others talked, Lori Ann joined in. "You know, this may come as a surprise, but…I agree with Barbara Jean. Reba needs to have some fun."

Cheyenne and Kyra shared a look, then shrugged in indifferent agreement. "So, what would you want to do for the party?" Cheyenne asked.

"Well, I was thinking of some ideas," Barbara Jean said. "Cheyenne, remember that bar you were hanging out at instead of your lab? She seemed to like karaoke, maybe that would be fun."

Shaking her head, Kyra reminded her, "Mom's trying to start a singing career now. I doubt she'll want to spend her free time singing."

"Good point," Lori Ann agreed. Then her eyes widened. "I've got it! A spa day! _That's_ what Reba needs. Massages, manicures, margaritas…"

"Oh my gosh, that sounds _perfect_. I totally need a massage," Cheyenne replied.

"But when would we do it?" Barbara Jean wondered. "I think we might be cutting it close if we plan it for the day of the wedding."

After thinking for a second, Lori Ann suggested, "How about the Friday? I can take off from work for Reba's spa day."

"And I don't have class that day! It's perfect!" Cheyenne exclaimed.

While they erupted into excited chatter about plans, the subject of Reba's copies came up. Barbara Jean informed them that the career clone was lost in her own real estate world, only coming home when she needed a change of clothes. It seemed that Reba 1 believed that the entire office was going down the tubes and needed to be saved at all costs. Meanwhile, Reba 2 was cleaning Cheyenne's house from top to bottom, and nearly keeping vigil over the kids.

No one knew how much longer this could go on, and Lori Ann began to express guilt for making the wish and causing everything. "I don't know if it's the alcohol talking, but everyone seems to be missing a big point – _I_ was the one who made the wish. _I_ was the one who caused all this chaos. And so far all Reba's been doing is blaming herself."

"I think she just knows that you had the best intentions," Barbara Jean replied, remembering her own wish-making experience. Reba was angry at first, but after a while they just focused on the situation at hand. There was no sense in placing blame. "What's done is done. You can't go back in time…" She paused at that. "Well, you probably could if you asked Terry, but I don't think he would…oh, you get the point."

"Someone mention my name?"

Lori Ann yelped in surprise as Terry appeared in the kitchen, causing her to slide off the stool and almost spill her drink. "Don't _do_ that! Ever hear of using a _door_?"

"Yeah, but this way's more fun," Terry joked, grinning at her while she regained her balance.

Laughing, Kyra asked, "What happened, Terry? Last time we saw you, you ran out of here with your wings between your legs."

"Well, I think I might've found a loophole that will make Reba _a little_ less mad at me," Terry announced, causing everyone to perk up and pay more attention. Realizing the unlikely chance of that happening, he shrugged. "A guy can hope, anyway. I wanted to run it by you girls first since…well…the way she is now, Reba might smack me into a second death before I get a chance to tell her."

"What did you find?" Cheyenne asked.

"Apparently," Terry began. "If the copies cause enough damage that it causes the person's life to make a drastic turn for the worse, the wish requirement becomes secondary and the copies disappear. So, basically, I can intervene if the situation gets way too out of control."

"Because everything is peachy now," Kyra deadpanned.

About to retort, Terry was cut off when the phone rang. Taking the phone off the hook on the wall next to her, Barbara Jean answered, "Hello? Jake? What's wrong, aren't you supposed to be at…you're home now? What happened?"

At his answer, her eyes widened and she leaped up from her seat and exclaimed, "_Oh my God_!"

"What?" the group exclaimed at once.

Panic rising within her, Barbara Jean stared at the phone in horror and answered, "Reba…the real one…was just arrested by Houston police!"


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

While the women had their meeting, Adam relaxed at his and Reba's house with his fiancé. Barbara Jean had him on official diversion duty.

Which he did not mind one bit.

It was a rare day when he and Reba had some alone time. Jake was at a friend's house, Kyra was at the "mystery meeting," and his mother had gone to get the wedding favors. Since she needed Van and Brock for manpower, Reba was able to weasel her way out by arguing that she wouldn't fit in the car It was a thin argument, but the trio let her go. Brock had taken her side, figuring that having both his ex-wife and his ex-wife's future mother-in-law in the car would be unnecessary torture.

_Works for me_, Adam thought, hugging Reba closer on the couch. He'd persuaded her to relax that night. She didn't have anything that needed her immediate attention, so he'd managed to convince her to unwind.

To do so, they'd settled on watching _Miss Congeniality_. While it wasn't Adam's first pick, it was on – as it _always_ seemed to be – so they settled for convenience. Besides, if Adam played his cards right, he wouldn't be watching the movie much.

But, despite his best efforts, she only responded half-heartedly and concentrated on the movie. Glancing at the screen, he saw that it was nearing the end. "Look, honey, I know it's a funny movie, but you're a smart woman – you don't need to focus on it with rapt attention to get it."

"Huh?" Reba asked, still staring at the movie. "Yeah, real funny…"

Becoming concerned, Adam waved a hand over Reba's glazed-over eyes. "Hello? Earth to Reba, Earth to Reba, this is Mission Control…" When she didn't reply, he added, "Houston, we have a problem."

"Wha…Houston…Oh, oh right, I'm sorry, were you saying something?" Reba asked, turning to face him.

Adam gave her a gentle kiss then pulled apart. "Are you okay? You haven't heard a word I've said for the past five minutes. And who knows? It could've been insightful, and you would've missed it."

"I highly doubt it," Reba joked, slowly returning from her daze. "I'm sorry, honey, I'm just thinking about all this crazy stuff that's been going on. You know, wondering how I'm going to reclaim my office, that sort of thing."

Chuckling, Adam suggested, "We could pull a spy takeover! Yeah, we'd all dress in black, sneak in under the dark of night…your office has a vent system, right?"

"I love you," Reba said with a laugh, kissing him. "And thanks for the support, but I think that only works in movies."

"And I always thought angels only existed in movies, and _that_ went out the window soon enough," Adam muttered. True, he was getting…used to the oddness that surrounded his wife, but he was far from calling it normal.

Serious for a moment, Reba turned to him and asked, "You're okay with this, right? I know we've had this conversation a million times, but I just want to make sure. After all, I have a feeling that Terry is going to be sticking around for…a while. True, when I went to the future, it seemed like I hadn't seen him for some time, but that's some time away."

"Oh, well, Terry's decent enough…you know, for a dead guy…" Adam trailed off, unsure what to say. Then something his fiancé said clicked in his head. _Wait…what?_ "I'm sorry, but I could've _sworn_ you said 'when you went to the future.'"

Unaware of how crazy she sounded, Reba explained, "Oh, yeah, I never told you about that? Let's see, it was when Terry brought my past self from the seventies, and we stopped in 2017 on our way to drop her off…"

"Okay, sorry I asked," Adam interrupted, causing her to laugh at what was surely his shocked expression. His mind had been busted open since meeting Reba. Before her, if anyone had gone on about time traveling he would have thought them nuts. Now, mentions of time traveling and body-switching were near common place.

_Dear God, she's turned me into a nutcase._

Well, he was a happy nutcase. And that was what mattered, right?

"I love you," Adam said, kissing her. She kissed back, until _finally_ they were making out on the couch.

Then the doorbell rang.

"_Crap_!"

Both adults exclaimed in unison. Breaking apart, Adam got up to answer the door.

The two police officers on the other side had him staring in ill-concealed surprise. "Wh-wha…" Adam stuttered, then shook his head. Maybe they were coming about one of his cases? But then, why would they come to his home? "Can I help you, officers?"

"Does Mrs. Reba Hart live here?" the first officer asked.

His jaw dropping, Adam turned to face his fiancé. She'd gotten up and was walking over, her face white and hands shaking. "Oh my Lord, what did I do?" she whispered.

Thinking that it was an expression of regret, the second officer replied, "Well, hold on to that. Maybe remorse will help you in court. But right now, we've been told to take you down to the station."

:"Hold on," Adam interrupted, putting a hand to his aching forehead. _Okay, don't freak out…how would you handle this if one of your cases was getting arrested?_ "What are the charges, officer?"

Looking down at his notepad, the first officer answered, "Destruction of private property. The prosecution claims that Mrs. Hart sent a destructive computer virus through their company's computer system."

"_What_? I don't know anything about computers! I can turn one on, but that's about it!" Reba exclaimed.

The second officer raised an eyebrow. "You can prove that in court. But at the moment, we're going to have to take you –."

"Downtown, yeah, I know," Reba interrupted. Her face calm, she let the officers cuff her and turned to Adam.

Who was panicking. His breath shallow, he tried to process what was happening. _Reba obviously didn't do it, so…the business Reba, maybe? After what Reba and Lori Ann told me about her, I really wouldn't be surprised if she did do this. Even normal Reba has a temper, and if Reba 1 is unbalanced as they said…oh God, my fiancé's going to jail!_ "I-I'll fix this, honey, don't worry," he tried to reassure her. He could feel panic bursting through his "manly façade" as he spoke. "I-I know some lawyers. _Good_ lawyers, who owe me a favor. There's no way they'll be able to charge you with…"

"Adam, sweetie, calm down," Reba interrupted. Glancing to the officers, she asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "If you're not in a hurry, I'd like to speak with my fiancé for a second."

The officers glanced at each other, shrugged, and stepped onto the porch to give them some privacy. But they were still close enough that they could hear every word.

Rolling her eyes, Reba whispered as she continued, "Okay, you have to stay here. Elisa, Brock and Van will come back soon. You don't want your mother finding out about this, do you?"

Adam hadn't thought about that. Come to think of it, the idea of his mother finding out about this…he shuddered and nodded. "Right. So, what…"

"You stay with your mother, since she'll wonder where you are," Reba told him, clearly thinking of what to do off the top of her head. "Then…tell her I'm at Barbara Jean's house. Then, have Brock come bail me out. He'll take me to Barbara Jean's, and I'll walk back from there."

Amazed, Adam stared back at her with wide eyes. "How are you so _calm_?"

"I think I'm in shock," Reba confessed. Seeing that the officers wanted her to hurry up, she kissed him. "I'll be back soon. Don't worry. Love you."

All he could do was kiss her back and nod at her dumbly. "Right. Love you too."

He stood on the porch and watched as they took her into the police car and began to drive away. "'Don't worry,' she says," he muttered. "Is she _nuts_?"

"Adam! Adam!"

Glancing up, he saw Jake running up the front walk. "Jake, what are you doing here? I thought you were staying at your friend's house for dinner."

"I was, but Steve's mom said that she saw a cop car in front of our house on the way home," Jake said, pausing to catch his breath as he neared the porch. "I ran over here as fast as I could. What _happened_? Where's Mom?"

For a brief second, Adam considered lying to Jake as well. There was no reason for him to know what was going on. But then, Adam thought about how he would have wanted to be treated when he was fourteen. "They arrested her, Jake. For something one of her copies did," Adam explained, trying to keep his voice from cracking. "Your dad, Van and my mother will be back soon, and then your dad is going to pay bail."

"That's good, right? She won't have to stay in prison?" Jake asked with hope in his voice.

"Of course not," Adam replied, once again wishing he felt as confident as he thought he sounded. "Come on, Jake, let's go inside." Then he paused, thinking about what to do to keep both of them busy, and sane. "I'm going to call Van's cell to give him a head's up, and you can call Barbara Jean. "

* * *

"Did Jake tell you what she was in for?" Lori Ann asked, running up the front steps of the station house. Barbara Jean was right behind her, almost stepping on her heels – it was as if the two were racing to the top.

They'd rushed over as soon as Barbara Jean hung up the phone. Terry had gone wherever angels go to get information on what was happening. Kyra and Cheyenne wanted to come, but had to stay home to watch the kids. Kyra almost walked off without her sister, but the blonde had protested that "she was not watching four young children by herself."

Out of the corner of her eye, Lori Ann saw Barbara Jean shake her head. "No. I don't even think _he_ knows. Whatever it is, it's lies!"

"Well, of course it is! Reba's never done anything illegal in her entire life…no matter how much I tried to convince her," Lori Ann replied with a smirk, for a brief second remembering their childhood together. Shaking her head, she continued, "I hope whoever did this to her has a _really_ good lawyer…"

She trailed off as they entered the small, almost cliché station house – to the right, the sheriff's desk, to the left, a large jail cell. There were more cells down a corridor, but Reba happened to be in the first one. And she was furious.

Because, standing across from her with a smug look on his face, was Mr. Matthews – the _Southern Village_ representative.

"So _we're_ going to be the ones who need a good lawyer," Lori Ann muttered to herself, while Barbara Jean stood next to her, confused. She also noticed Brock and Van, also angry, and glaring at the representative as if they might attack him at the slightest provocation. To his credit, Mr. Matthews appeared rightfully nervous, avoiding eye contact with Reba's would-be protectors and clutching onto his briefcase.

Her hands on her hips, Reba was yelling with pure venom in her voice. "So, putting your competition in jail for some made-up bologna is real estate business protocol now? I'm sorry, _I must have missed that email_!"

"Good one, Reba!" Barbara Jean cheered, while Lori Ann laughed in agreement.

Smirking at the representative, Brock remarked, "See what you've gotten yourself into? Still think it's worth it, buddy?"

"Y-yes, I do," Mr. Matthews replied, attempting to keep his face stoic. "And for your information, Mrs. Hart, these charges are not 'made-up bologna,' as you so eloquently put it. It is in response to your vicious computerized attack on our company, following your vicious _verbal_ attack on _me_ in your office!"

"Cr_ap_," Reba groaned, then let out a deep sigh. "Look, I'm sorry about that. I…I wasn't myself that day," she said, while Lori Ann tried desperately not to laugh at the irony. "I've been under a lot of stress, and I just snapped at the wrong time at the wrong person. I can honestly say that I did not intend to yell at you and I'm sorry." Then, when the representative was about to respond, she added, "But that does not give you the right to pin me with _ridiculous_ charges!"

His face still hard and blank, Mr. Matthews replied, "I will take your apology into consideration, but I'm sure my boss will stick with the charges. 'Sorry' isn't enough to counter the fact that this trial and ensuing bad publicity will most probably put you out of business." He paused as his phone rang. Taking it out, he glanced at the caller ID and said. "This is him now. I'll take this outside to…avoid further hostility. Van, come with me. He'll want to talk to you as well. To remind you of your loyalties to your company."

Van glared at him, while the others' eyes widened in realization. With all this drama, Lori Ann had forgotten that Van worked for the competition. He was obviously about to explode with anger, but he tried to play it cool so much that it was almost silly. Letting out a deep breath, he said, "It…is not…my company…any more."

Mr. Matthews raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Van, don't be stupid!" Reba objected, much to everyone's surprise. Lori Ann personally felt she had a right to demand Van's resignation when his company put her in jail. But as usual, Reba was putting others before herself. "Don't do this because of me!" she continued. "You can't quit without talking to Cheyenne!"

"I can because I know she'd feel the same way," Van replied, then faced his co-worker. "Chris, you can tell Mr. Williams that I quit."

Giving him a blank stare for a second, Chris just nodded. "Fine." And then he walked out the door to take his call.

"Van, you shouldn't have done that," Reba said. Though it was in a way that made clear that she was touched by his expression of family loyalty.

While they waited for Chris, and apparently the sheriff, to come back, Lori Ann strolled over to stand in front of her behind-bars best friend. "Funny, I always thought I would be the first one to get arrested."

"You were," Reba reminded her with a smile. "Or were you too drunk to remember when I had to come bail you out freshman year of college?"

Lori Ann paused, furrowing her brow in concentration. Then she nodded. "Oh, that's right. Sorry, looks like I do have the honor after all."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," Brock muttered under his breath.

"I heard that," Lori Ann said, then turned back to Reba. "Honey, don't you worry about any of this. I'm sure Evil Reba didn't do it, and if she did…well, we'll think of something."

Smirking, Reba replied, "We're calling her 'Evil Reba' now?"

"I think that would be appropriate," Lori Ann reasoned.

Reba sighed, then leaned in close to the bars. "Hey, Lori Ann, my intuition is going off like crazy. Go see what Chris is sayin' over there."

"Are you telling me to eavesdrop?" Lori Ann asked with fake shock. "Only a half hour in jail and your morals are already going astray."

"Oh, hush up and go!" Reba ordered.

Her arms folded, Lori Ann mused, "Hey, is this like when mobsters are in jail and they hire hit men on the outside?"

"_Go_!" Reba snapped.

Smirking, Lori Ann took orders and headed to the door. Van, who happened to be closest to the door, became curious and went with her. "What are you doing?" Van whispered.

"I've been given orders," Lori Ann whispered back. The two stood there and listened to the conversation, which Chris was having a conversation in a loud enough voice.

"_Are you sure you still want to press charges, sir? If we go to court and the false charges are exposed, we'd be ruined…if you'll excuse me for saying so, sir, planting that computer virus seemed extreme. Mrs. Hart's company seems so trivial compared to our corporation…well, if you say it's worth it, sir. I'll continue with the charges. _

_Oh, and there was an interesting development. Van Montgomery has quit over this issue…I doubt he'll come back, sir. I swear, I've never met a man so loyal to his mother-in-law, the guy's a freak of nature…Agreed, I doubt he'll be much of a threat. He doesn't seem the type to be too observant, sir. I'll bet he doesn't even know where we would keep the virus if he thought of it. _

_I'll be out of here soon, sir. The sheriff seems to be busy for the moment and will be back in a few minutes. I'll return to the office immediately."_

While Chris hung up, Lori Ann and Van ran back into the station. "Reba, you were right."

"What happened?" Brock asked in a whisper.

Seeing that Chris was coming back, Lori Ann and Van each took an arm and started guiding him toward the exit, eager to share what they learned.

"Where are you going?" Reba called. "You're leaving me with _her_?"

Ignoring the insult, Barbara Jean replied in a soothing voice, "Oh, Reba, you know I won't leave if you don't want me too. If they'd let me, I'd stay in the cell with you through this trying time."

Reba paused, then checked the lock on her cell. "They locked this thing, right?"

"We'll be back in a few minutes!" Lori Ann assured her, laughing as she and the guys went outside to talk.


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: So apparently I only update this story every six months or so.

What happens is, I go through phases. While really into "Reba" when I started, for the most part I don't even watch reruns anymore. But lately I _have_ been watching reruns and laughing my butt off, remembering how much I love this show.

So now I'm coming back to this and finishing with determination. Both for me, just to finish it off, and for you. I feel really bad that I've dragged this out for more than a whole year. And you'll be annoyed to know that I've only been keeping you in suspense for only this chapter and an epilogue.

Thank you to everyone who has been sticking with this series since the first story. You've all been totally awesome and definitely some of the best reviewers I've had.

As for the million-dollar question - will there be another one? Well, I've already mentioned that I have another one all planned out. I've given the idea some thought, as it's a good one IMHO and I'd enjoy writing it. The bottom line here is…_maybe_. I have other stories to work on, yet with summer vacation coming up in a couple of months I might just do it.

Anyway, since this might be the last story, I just want to make it clear that if anyone wants to use the OC's, concepts, or storylines I have created here, go right ahead. Just please let me know first and put a disclaimer that they're mine.

On that note, please accept this last chapter with my apologies for the delay.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Reba couldn't believe where she was.

Oh, sure, over the past few years she'd been in some unusual places. The past. The future. In Barbara Jean's body.

But _jail_? Crap, she never saw this coming.

All of this was total horse poop. They'd really put her in _jail_ just to destroy her company? At the very least, she could take comfort in knowing that they could never convict her of anything. Hello, this whole thing was complete fabrication on their part. They'd have a hard time making up enough evidence to stand up in court.

She had a pretty good idea where this would go. Her family would come back in and write a check for bail. Then, after some time passed and she was humiliated enough, they would drop the charges. Surely, they didn't want to waste money on a trial they knew they would lose. That way, there was no chance they'd be proved to be liars, and she would be branded a white collar criminal for life since she would never get to prove her innocence in court.

"Dang, they're good," Reba muttered to herself.

Next to her on a wooden chair, Barbara Jean perked up and glanced at her, her face filled with sympathy. "Who, Reba?"

"Never mind," Reba answered with an aggravated sigh. "Just thinking about how unfair this all is."

Barbara Jean nodded. "_So_ not fair. The company who did this to you is going to get bad karma for the rest of their lives, that's for sure." Then she paused and lowered her eyes. "Unless, um…" She quickly checked to make sure Mr. Matthews was busy on his phone. "You actually _did_ do it."

"_Excuse_ me?" Reba exclaimed, so loud that Mr. Matthews looked up at them. She gave him an intent glare, and he quickly went back to his phone call. "What the heck are you talking about?" Reba whispered.

Unable to look her in the eye, Barbara Jean explained, "_Well_, while I know _you_ could never do something like this, Reba 1 is another story. Van and I have talked about how…slightly different your clones are from you, and…based on what we've seen, I think it's a possibility." Then she flinched as she shut her eyes, clearly expecting Reba to reach through the bars and smack her.

Reba groaned. She didn't want to admit it, but she'd entertained that thought too. "Calm down, I'm not going to hit you. I've thought about that, and…I'm scared, Barbara Jean," Reba confessed. "Because if she did, then…oh, Lord, I don't want to think about it."

When she had come back from listening in on the phone call, Lori Ann had assured her that "she was right." But what did that _mean_, exactly? Maybe the representative had said something unsavory on the phone. There was still the chance, though, that she could be in for some serious Martha Stewart-like jail time. After what she'd seen, she wouldn't put it past her other self to do something like this.

And that scared the crap out of her.

Really, what would her family do without her? She was Cheyenne and Van's number-one babysitter, and Jake still needed her to take care of him. He would probably live at Brock and Barbara Jean's. Even those two constantly needed her as referee for their many, idiotic fights. And Adam would be left alone in the house.

Adam. She knew he would stick by her no matter what. But she'd feel ten times worse in jail knowing that he was out there counting the days until she got out. She knew it'd kill him that she was in trouble like this and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Reba?" Barbara Jean asked. She had put her face up close to the bars to examine her best friend's forlorn expression. "Are you okay?"

Startled, Reba stepped back from the bars to avoid a close up of Barbara Jean's eye make up. "Jeez, don't do that!"

"Sorry. It's understandable you'd be a little jumpy," Barbara Jean replied as she backed away a little from the bars. "I would be too if it were me. Who wants an ex-convict weather girl?

The off-hand remark brought Reba's thoughts around from everyone else to her own life with a force that almost made her jump back as well. "Oh my Lord," she finally whispered. "What am _I_ going to do?"

"You're just thinking about that _now_? What else have you been thinking about?" Barbara Jean half-joked.

Reba didn't have time to answer. The door opened, and Adam entered with his checkbook. Surprised, Reba exclaimed, "What the heck are you doing here? Where's Elisa?"

"She got back earlier than planned. I made up some excuse and came to get you," Adam replied as he ran up to the bars. "And I needed to bring the checkbook to bust you out."

"But I thought Brock brought his check book?" Barbara Jean asked.

Adam shook his head, an amused smile on his lips. "Apparently he was so panicked when he left that he forgot it."

"I'm not surprised," Reba said with a laugh. "When I went into labor with Cheyenne, he forgot his wallet with his drivers' license. So when he sped through the red light to get to the hospital, the cop almost arrested him."

Barbara Jean chuckled. "Why didn't he?"

"Well, I think the cop saw me screamin' and hollerin' next to Brock and felt bad for him," Reba explained. After she shook her head at the memory, she turned to Adam. "What's going on out there?"

"Chaos. Van, Brock and Lori Ann were talking about how to clear your name, but then that prosecutor guy came out, and the four have been arguing ever since," Adam told her. He then began to write out a check on the sheriff's desk. The sheriff himself hadn't been there when Reba was brought in, but his arrival was announced by the furious exclamations of everyone outside.

Soon enough, Reba's bail was paid, and she was freed. Everyone was relieved, but the representative didn't drop the charges, and told Van he could pick up his stuff on Monday. Reba was on autopilot as she was hugged by everyone and brought to Adam's car to be taken home. The train of thought about what she would do if convicted had stuck with her and overcome her mind.

Finally she was alone with Adam in the car on their way home. He kept glancing her way with concern on his face. But she kept silent, too overwhelmed.

What would she do?

The wedding was next week, thank goodness. At least she could get married before she was hauled off to prison.

But her singing career? Her real estate business? Neither could go on without her. She's already put so much effort into her singing career, but if she disappeared for a few months, _no one_ would remember the little-known singer from Texas after a week. She'd have to start from square one.

Her real estate business would crumble as well. Without her there, _Southern Village_ would surely move in for the kill. She had a few good managers under her, but none of them would be able to handle everything she did.

Reba put her head in her hands, tears in her eyes that she refused to let fall.

Terry had granted her this wish to reduce the stress in her life. Well, if both her careers failed, she wouldn't have any stress at all. Another wish granted.

"Oh, honey," Adam exclaimed in surprise. When he spotted a parking spot, he pulled over and took her in his arms. "It's going to be okay."

Finally the tears broke through. "How can you _say_ that?" she demanded. "What if they convict me? My whole life will be ruined! And it won't even be my fault!"

"W-well," Adam replied, somewhat flustered. She could tell it was because he rarely saw her like this. "They won't be able to, because you didn't do it."

Reba pulled away slightly and looked up at him. "How do you know that?"

Adam stared at her for a moment, confused. Then his eyes widened. "No one told you?"

"Told me what?" Reba demanded.

"Lori Ann, Brock and Van overheard Mr. Matthews on the phone. The charges are completely false. This was all to humiliate you and your company, partly in repose to 'your' outburst a few days ago," Adam informed her.

Reba was so relieved that she laughed and fell back into her passenger seat. "Oh, thank the Lord! I didn't do it!" she exclaimed. Her relief turned to anger so fast that Adam did a double-take. "Those butt-heads! How _dare_ they!"

"There's the Reba I know and love," Adam laughed.

"I have to find some way to bust them," Reba vowed. But she let out some deep breaths to level her anger, her thoughts returning to her previous thoughts. While there had been nothing she could do about her singing career, her real estate business would have collapsed because she didn't trust enough people to do her job. "But I think I finally get it. Finally."

Startled, Adam replied, "Get what?"

"What everyone's been saying," Reba explained. Overwhelmed by the revelation, she kept her back against the seat and her blank stare trained on the car in front of her. "That I need to slow down. For the briefest second I thought about what would happen if I had to go to jail. Adam, I was _terrified_. So many people count on me that all I could think about was not being able to keep it all going for once. It's too much, and I think I can finally see that."

There was a long pause, then Adam hugged her before returning to his seat and reaching for the keys still in the ignition. "So what are you going to do about this?"

"I don't know. But I have to figure out something, or else I don't know how long it'll be before I break down," Reba answered, determination in her words.

* * *

On Monday morning, Van went into the _Southern Village_ office building for what he knew would be the last time. He didn't regret his impulsive decision to quit. After what he put his mother-in-law, who he viewed as his real mother, he would never be able to work for them again.

He had a good, long talk when he got home and explained what happened to Cheyenne. She was upset at first when he told her that he quit. There were the usual Cheyenne-like concerns – she'd slapped him upside the head and demanded, "you idiot, what'd you do that for?" But, as he rubbed his head, he explained what had happened at the police station. She was still plenty mad that he'd turned down the salary he was making, but she understood that he had to do it for her mother. And she'd been a little better when he confessed that he had been considering a competing offer from former employer, Steve Norris, who could finally afford to pay him the same as _Southern Village_.

Meanwhile, everyone was coming down off the shock and outrage of the situation. All were plenty furious at the major corporation's nerve to do all this just to ruin Reba's career. But they were also baffled. Was it really worth it?

But Van knew it was. He'd seen it at the office. Everyone was worried that Reba's growing real estate company would control the Texas market. While _Southern Village_ was a major network, Van thought that one of their flaws was that they refused to let go of any possible profit.

As he rode up his floor in the elevator, Van let out a few deep, calming breaths. While he knew the reason behind it, he was still angry at his former employer for what they did. It would be tough controlling his temper enough to clean out his cubicle.

But while he was angry with them, he was also mad at himself. How could he not have seen this? If only he'd caught wind of this plot they had and…and…well, he wasn't sure how it could've helped, but he was sure it could've in _some_ way. Van tried to reassure himself that his co-workers had been hiding the scheme from him the whole time so he wouldn't tell Reba.

The elevator doors opened, and he entered the floor. To control his anger, Van focused on his ulterior motive for being there.

He was on a mission. After everyone cooled down a little, they had gathered at Reba's house to figure out an attack plan. When they realized that Van would be going back to the office that Monday, they'd ordered him to snoop as much as possible for evidence. Van had been a little reluctant, since he wasn't good at being sneaky, he promised he would try his best.

Lost in thought and nervous about being discovered, he almost jumped out of his skin when a co-worker came up and gave him a sympathetic pat on the back. "Oh, jeez!" Van exclaimed as he jumped about three feet in the air.

The co-worker, a chubby man named Joe, chuckled and shook his head. "I'm gonna miss you, Van. The boss told everyone a little while ago. It's a shame you decided to quit."

"Thanks, Joe," Van replied as his heart beat returned to its normal pace. "I'll, uh, miss you too. Hey…what'd they tell you about what happened?"

Joe shrugged. "Just that you had another job offer and decided to take it."

"I did not! How did they even know about Steve Norris anyway?" Van demanded. At Joe's surprised expression, Van realized too late that his boss had probably made up the whole thing without realizing the partial truth. "I mean, uh, I…I guess it doesn't matter if they know since I'm leaving now, right?" At the awkward moment that followed, Van clapped Joe on the back and began to walk away. "Well, it was nice knowing you."

Van continued on to his cubicle and spotted the empty box on his chair, provided for him to pack up. With a deep sigh, Van glanced around at his cubicle. It was covered in pictures of him and his family, mostly of just Cheyenne or Elizabeth. He began the process of cleaning up, ignoring the curious stares of his other co-workers.

After he was about half done, his head boss came out of his office nearby. David Harper came out of his office, a bunch of papers in his hand. He had those pre-big meeting jitters Van knew well. On his way past Van's desk, David paused as he spotted Van, and came over. Much to Van's annoyance, David put his elbow on the wall of the cubicle and smirked. "Hello, Van. So sorry to see you packing up."

"So sorry to see you…you…" Van trailed off as he realized he didn't have a snappy comeback. With as much dignity he could muster, he finished, "…going to a meeting."

David laughed at Van's blunder. "Yes, I do have a meeting, Van. And I believe it's with one of your mother-in-law's former clients. How _is_ that little business of hers doing?"

"Great! Fantastic! Really…good," Van insisted.

Again, David chuckled as he shuffled the papers in his hand. "Well, it was nice having you here, Van. You were a good worker. Don't hesitate to list me as a reference."

Once David was out of earshot, Van retorted, "W-well, I _would_ hesitate because you're _pure evil_! Hah!" But the only good that did was earn him strange looks from workers close by.

After he calmed down from the encounter, Van looked around…and noticed that David had left the door to his office open. _Hello!_ Van thought with a smug smile to himself. He quickly checked to make sure no one was looking, he snuck over to the door, and ducked behind some other cubicles on the way. Thankfully, David didn't have an assistant, so Van was able to get in. _What idiot leaves his office door open?_ Van thought with a smirk. "And people think _I'm_ stupid," he muttered to himself.

With another quick check in the office space outside, Van went back in and lightly closed the door. He went over to the computer to check, but it was password protected. Van paused. He _knew_ this password. David had trusted Van with it once when he needed Van to email some files to David's personal laptop.

It took some thought, but Van managed to remember and typed in _WoodsFan24_. Van rolled his eyes. _Why does _every_ businessman play _golf_? It's so boring!_

He scanned the recent emails, but didn't find anything relating to his mother-in-law. But then a folder on the sidebar caught his eye – "Hart." _That must be it!_ Excited, Van clicked it open. The very first email was from David to Chris Matthews, the representative who had been at the police station.

_Chris – _

_Do you have a back-up of Walker's client file? She was one of the ones I told you to back-up before we sent out the virus._

_-David_

Van put his fist in his mouth to keep himself from shouting with happiness. Then he bit his knuckle. "Ouch!" he exclaimed. He winced, expecting someone to hear him. When no one came after a minute, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Thrilled, Van went down the list of about thirty emails. Each and every one was about the scandal they had created. Van wondered why his boss would save all of them, but then remembered that David was a fanatic about keeping records on all the businesspeople he dealt with. And Van wouldn't put it past his boss to keep the emails as an ego-boost, proof that his little evil scheme had actually worked.

Van might not be the smartest guy in the world, but thanks to his job, he knew his way around an email account. He checked David's to-do list, which was programmed in the email account, and saw that David wouldn't be back for another half-hour. Van had about thirty minutes to forward thirty emails to his email address. No problem.

His hand shaking on the mouse from excitement, Van managed to calm himself enough to forward all the emails with about ten minutes left to spare. Then, in a stroke of brilliance, he went to the "Sent" folder and deleted all of the forwarded emails listed, so that David wouldn't know anything had been touched.

Finally, he was done. Van logged out of the computer and did a small victory dance on his way out of the office.

* * *

Terry breathed a giant sigh of relief as he appeared in Reba's kitchen, hopefully for what would be the last time for a while. This whole ordeal would be over soon, and he can recuperate from the challenges of cleaning up this wish. Maybe he'd take Reba's advice for once and not meddle in her life anymore…at least, not in a way that was so obvious.

But he couldn't help himself. Part of the reason he was so…present, was that he missed her. As her ex-boyfriend, he constantly questioned the choice to make him her guardian angel. While the…human emotions of romantic love and desire had disappeared once he became a guardian angel, he still missed her like humans miss an old friend.

The first time he interfered it was all inside her mind. He couldn't resist letting her know he was watching over her, since it wouldn't be against the rules _too_ much.

Then he crossed the line by interfering in her reality. He wasn't sure what came over him…he thought of something he could do to fix the situation, and he did it. It was part of his nature to be impulsive. After the first time, he knew he was on the wrong side of angelic law every time he granted a wish. But he couldn't argue with success. He knew that every single time, his tactics were what fixed different areas of Reba's life.

And that success was what saved his wings every single time.

But he didn't know how much longer he would be able to get away with these surreal twists in Reba's reality. Yes, he would definitely be more inconspicuous from then on.

He let out another deep breath and ran a hand through his hair to steady himself before he made his presence known. It was the day after Van discovered the incriminating emails in his boss' office. The entire Hart family was celebrating in Reba's living room, with the usual glow of victory after a troubling time. Adam had taken his mother out for the day at her insistence, so Reba's doubles were over as well. Both of Reba's doubles had calmed down with the knowledge that Reba's wish had been fulfilled. Reba made it very clear to her copies, and her family, that she understood that she had to lighten her load.

Along with the wish fulfillment, they were also celebrating that the false charges against Reba had been dropped. Van had printed out the emails and given Reba copies, who then went to _Southern Village_ representatives and threatened to sue for libel. Baffled as to how she had obtained the emails, the company agreed to not only back off her company, but leave the Houston area to avoid humiliation. Ironically, Reba's company had ended up better off than before the legal mess.

Terry was thrilled that everything had worked out this time. He had come _dangerously_ close to messing it all up beyond repair, so he considered himself the luckiest angel alive…well, in existence.

About to enter the living room, Terry paused. He was always a little hesitant walking into this kind of situation, it was like he was intruding on Reba's family life. A point proven the last time Reba's wish was fulfilled, after the body-switch incident. There had also been this point last time when the Hart family was celebrating Reba's engagement, and Reba had to force him to come to the party.

As if on cue, Reba walked into the kitchen. She paused when she saw him, but gave him a warm smile. Before she could say anything, Terry greeted, somewhat lamely, "We have got to stop meeting like this."

Reba laughed at the reference to the repeat of events, and surprised him by giving him a quick hug. "I don't see anything wrong with it," she replied as she leaned on the kitchen island next to him. "How are you holding up?"

"Good…why, should I be worried?" He answered, only half-joking. He couldn't tell if she was furious at him or not.

His tension obvious, Reba put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm not mad at you. Somehow you keep managing to avoid that."

"Except for when you smacked my head," Terry reminded her.

"Well, you'd just told me I might be stuck with my clones forever. You deserved it," Reba explained with a laugh. "But, once again, I seem to owe you another thank you."

Terry paused. There was something he'd been wanting to tell her, but hadn't been able to in all the chaos. This seemed like the appropriate time. "Look, Reba, I…I didn't do all this just to get you to manage your schedule better."

"Oh?" Reba asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I…I did it because I was scared," Terry confessed. At her confusion, he explained, "Reba, when you went back in time and came back, you remember how I healed your high blood pressure, right?"

Reba hesitated as she took the information in. Then she gasped in horror. "Y-you mean…if you hadn't…I would have…"

"I'm not certain you would have…would have," he answered, both of them unable to say the "D" word. "But I know your high blood pressure would've come back with a vengeance. There's only so long I can hold something like that back. I…I just thought you should know. Not to make me look like a hero, or save my skin. But because I know that you would want to know."

Scared, Reba hugged him again, this time a little longer. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Any time," Terry assured her as he hugged her back.

The moment passed, and Reba stood up. "Well, I, uh, came in to put on a pot of coffee."

Terry took a brief moment and concentrated. Within seconds, the coffeemaker on the counter was percolating away. "There you go."

"Show off," Reba laughed. She gave him a light smack on her way back to the living room. "You coming?"

"Yup. Gotta get rid of those copies of yours," Terry replied, much to her relief.

"Thank the Lord! They're leaving!" Reba exclaimed while she opened the door for them. "I gotta tell you, I've had more than enough of me for a _long_ time."

Terry laughed as they entered the living room. When he came into view, everyone turned to him at once, including the copies. "Hey everyone," he said, then gave them a weak smile. He wasn't sure if all of them were as forgiving as Reba was.

"Please please please tell me you aren't just here to party," Kyra asked with a discreet nod to the copies.

"Yeah," Cheyenne agreed, Little Brock on her lap. "Don't you have some…I don't know…business to take care of?"

Reba 1 rolled her eyes. "Do ya'll think we're stupid? Come on, Terry, do your thing before I change my mind."

"Yeah, I'm with her," Reba 2 agreed as she got up from her seat.

Brock gave a loud sigh. "Thank goodness this is over. I think everyone will be relieved when there is once again _only_ one Reba Hart."

Insulted, Reba 2 slapped Brock upside the head. Then she high-fived Lori Ann, who'd laughed and stretched out her hand.

As they stood together before the group, Reba1 and Reba 2 glanced at the original. "Well, get up here," Reba 1 ordered.

"What for?" Reba asked as she turned to Terry, surprised.

Scared, Barbara Jean asked, "Reba's not going anywhere, right?"

"No, she's not, just get up there," Terry assured Reba. He knew she presumes that the copies would simply go back into the mirror. But taking different personalities _out_ of a person was somewhat different than putting them back _in_.

Still a little apprehensive, Reba walked over and stood by her copies. The maternal copy stepped up. "Take care of yourself, okay?" she insisted.

Then she stepped _into_ Reba and disappeared.

Too stunned to ask questions, Reba was quiet as the career copy stepped forward as well. "Or we'll be back," she warned. Then she followed suit and vanished.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that's the strangest thing I've ever seen," Van remarked.

Kyra…along with Barbara Jean and Lori Ann, scoffed and retorted at virtually the same time – "Consider yourself lucky."

After she laughed, Reba went back into the living room and sat on the arm of the club chair, which was where Kyra happened to be sitting. "Well, they're finally gone," she said with relief.

"Good riddance," Brock remarked. This time, Lori Ann took the liberty of smacking him on his shoulder. "Ouch! Lori Ann! Come on, you've got to admit that you're glad they're gone too."

Lori Ann shook her head. "Hey, I'm just glad that Reba 1 the Evil Twin didn't land our Reba in jail. I was worried there."

"Yeah! I mean what would we do without Reba?" Barbara Jean asked.

"Actually," Cheyenne began, "Van and I thought about that too. Honey, you want to tell her?"

Much to Reba's confusion, Van agreed and stood up from his spot on the couch. "Mrs. H, in the interest of helping out, Cheyenne and I decided to get a babysitter, for when Cheyenne has class or when we go out to dinner."

"What? No!" Reba objected. "I can do it! You two can't afford it! Van just quit his job, for cryin' out loud!"

Terry glanced at her. "I can see your attitude towards life really _has_ changed," he remarked with sarcasm.

"This is different," Reba insisted.

"Mrs. H, if I may interrupt," Van said. When Reba quieted down, he continued, "Yes, I have quit my job…but I have a new one! Well, my old one, but it's still a new one. Steve Norris has been offering me a competing salary to come back, and I'm going to take it."

"Oh, that's great!" Reba exclaimed as she went to hug Van. The rest congratulated him as well.

"Congratulations, Van," Terry said as he stepped forward. _Leaving is always the hardest,_ Terry thought. But he knew it would be best for Reba and with himself. "Now, I have to be going."

Disappointed, Reba went back to his side and asked, "You can stay and hang out if you want, Terry. I was just about to get out dessert…wait, do angels…"

"Yes we do, and I would love to," Terry replied with a laugh. He'd wanted to leave as soon as possible to get the heartache over it, but he supposed he could stick it out for dessert. "Thanks, Reba."

As Lori Ann and Barbara Jean got up to go help Reba with dessert, Reba pulled Terry over to the side. "Look, um, I don't know if I made it clear before. But thank you. For everything. You know I don't always agree with your methods, but…"

"I know," Terry replied, and slung her arm around her shoulders while they went into the kitchen. "Like I said. Any time."


	11. Epilogue

A/N: I cannot believe I am done with this series. It's...incredible, that I have been working on these stories for almost three years. Again, while I do have an idea for a fifth one, you probably shouldn't hold your breath. At the very least, this is going to be it for a long while.

Again, thank you all for reading these stories. Surely this would never have been completed if you hadn't (inadvertently and on purpose at times) guilted me into it. Special thanks to Lost In Day Dreams and Katherine8790, who have reviewed practically every chapter since the very first story. You rock!

So, of course, what would one of my author's notes be without shameless self-plugging? If you look at my profile, you can follow the link to my two blogs. One is a TV news blog I had to start for class. The other is where I update what fanfiction I'm working on at the moment. Please check it out, and if you leave a comment I'll cyber-love you forever!

And now, the epilogue. Enjoy! Thank you for reading!

* * *

**Epilogue**

The wedding had been amazing.

In so many ways, too. Never mind the ceremony, the reception…which had both made up one of the best days of her entire life…Reba just couldn't believe that after eight years, she was finally married again. All along, she'd always felt that it was more than a little unfair that Brock had been the one to get married first. Since he caused the marriage to break up, _he_ should've been the lonely one.

Then again, he did have to deal with Barbara Jean. Given that option, she'd pick being lonely any day of the week.

But she wasn't going to think about Brock anymore that day. She had Adam now, who was still sleeping beside her. It was two days after the wedding, and she and Adam were leaving for their honeymoon in Aruba in just a few hours. Since they'd decided on a small wedding, they figured they would spend the leftover money on a fantasy Caribbean vacation. They'd agreed that the most they wanted out of their honeymoon was a week to celebrate their marriage…by doing nothing but sleeping on the beach all day.

Reba threw off the bed comforter, sat up and stretched her arms. A sideways glance at the clock proved that they had both overslept an hour. Understandable given their…nonstop bedtime activity since their wedding night. A satisfied smirk on her face at the thought, Reba turned and gently prodded Adam's shoulder. "Good morning, sleepy head."

"Who said I was awake yet?" Adam mumbled through his pillow.

"I did," Reba said with a laugh. When he reluctantly turned to face her, she smiled at him. "Come on, we've got to finish getting ready for the trip. There's some last minute bags to pack."

Adam groaned and pulled up the comforter again. "Can't you get your doubles back here to do it?"

"You _really_ want to deal with those psychos just to get some bags packed?" Reba argued. As she said the words, she realized she was talking about herself and paused. Over the past few days, it had dawned on her that her out-of-control copies, while exaggerated versions, had actually been _her_. The thought that she could be that crazy if she let herself definitely scared her. Luckily she'd had the wedding to distract her from what otherwise could have been weeks of introspection overkill.

Meanwhile, Adam had dragged himself out of bed and was pulling on a shirt. "I've got to say, I'm definitely happy that things are normal around here." He paused. "Or, what passes for normal."

"Yeah, and I think it'll stay that way for a while," Reba assured him as she got up as well. "I talked to Terry before he left, and he said he's going to try and use a more hands-off approach. He hinted that his interfering hasn't been the best for his angelic career."

Adam shook his head in a disbelief. "Whatever. Just as long as I don't have to hear about angels or magic or whatever else for a _long_ time."

"I'm with you on that one," Reba replied, then went over to kiss him. "Come on, let's have breakfast."

They made their way downstairs, and much to their surprise, the kitchen wasn't empty. "Van?" Reba asked at the sight of her son-in-law helping himself to some cookies that had been on the counter. "What are you doing here? At nine in the morning?"

"Eating my cookies," Adam added and grabbed the box from Van.

Cookies still in his mouth, Van spat out, "I came to say good-bye!"

"Well say it, don't spray it," Reba couldn't help but warn as cookie crumbs came flying at her. Then she paused. She wasn't wondering how Van was in her kitchen, of course – he knew where the spare key was and used it often. But the rest of her family wasn't coming over for another four hours or so to say their good-byes. "Let me rephrase that question, Van. What are you doing here at nine in the morning…"

A couple of the cookies in his mouth already, Adam reminded her, "Eating my cookies."

"What are you doing here at nine in the morning, eating my husband's cookies…" Reba added. She paused again as she savored one of the first times she'd called Adam her husband. "…when everyone else is getting here at one in the afternoon?"

"Well, I ate the cookies because I haven't had breakfast yet and I was starving. And trust me, that is the _only_ reason I would eat those pieces of cardboard," Van explained.

His eyes narrowed in a glare at Van, Adam explained, "These are _fat free_. Not all of us used to play pro football, okay?"

"Will you both _stop it_? Van, please answer the whole question!" Reba insisted with an exasperated sigh.

"I have an interview with Steve Norris today," Van explained. "You know, I used to work for them. I can't believe I actually have to be _interviewed_! They should be grateful I'm going back to their small little company! I worked for the big boys!"

Reba tried not to roll her eyes at Van's bravado, and she could tell Adam was attempting the same. "Well, Van, if this doesn't work out I'm sure I could find some place for you. Might have to be filing and other office work though, as I have barely enough money to pay my…self…"

Struck with a sudden thought, Reba froze where she stood. It made perfect sense. She still had to make more room in her life, didn't she? True, she didn't have to plan a wedding anymore. But she still had her singing career, which was taking off, and now her new marriage. She'd feel like she was still on her honeymoon if she came back and only had _one_ major area of her life to focus on…

"Reba? Honey?" Adam asked as he waved a hand in front of her blank stare.

Reba shook her head when she was brought back to reality. "Right. Hey, Van?"

"Yeah, Mrs. H?"

"How would feel about owning a _really_ 'small little company'?" Reba offered. After all, singing was her passion. The real estate company was just more stress she really didn't need to deal with. While a small part of her would miss the company she created, she'd live. At Van's shocked open mouth, she smiled and continued, "I'm a singer now, Van. I've not no need to keep hanging on to a business that's just taking up room in my schedule. What do you say?"

There was a brief, stunned silence as both Adam and Van stared at her with their eyes widened. Then Van broke out of his trance, ran over and hugged Reba so hard was left breathless for a split second. "I say thank you Mrs. H! You won't regret it!" Van exclaimed. He let go of her so quickly that Adam had to help her regain her balance. Van then dashed toward the back door, threw it open and exclaimed, "I have to go tell Cheyenne! This is so awesome!"

"Think he's excited?" Reba joked, a smile still on her face. Cliché as it may be, she really did feel like a huge weight had just been lifted off her shoulders.

Adam gave her a concerned look. "Are you, though? That was an awfully rash decision, Reba. Unless you've been thinking about it for a while, and I didn't notice."

"Oh, no, you were right, that was a rash decision," Reba assured him. "But it feels good. And I'm a big believer in instinct."

"Well, as long as you're sure," Adam replied.

"I am sure. It's going to be _so_ nice to come back from this honeymoon with only one career to keep track of," Reba said as she went over and hugged her husband, her head on his shoulder. "I'll finally get to relax."

Adam laughed. "If trying to start up a singing career is your idea of relaxing, you're not going to know what to do with yourself when we're actually on vacation. Relaxing is my area of expertise – you won't be able to keep up with me."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Reba said. She kissed him, then gave him a confident smile. "I'm a survivor."


End file.
